| THEOLOGICAL  SE 

Princeton,  N.  J. 

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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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PRESENTED  BY 

THE  PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION 


» 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/huguenotgalleyslOObart 


THE 


H U G U E N 0 T 


GALLEY  - SLAVES. 


A STORY  FOR  THE  YOUNG. 


/ 

REV.  C.  G.  BARTH,  D.  D 


TRANSLATED  FROM.  THE  GERMAN. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION. 

PAUL  T.  JONES,  PUBLISHING  AGENT. 

1S44. 


STEREOTYPED  PY  S.  DOUGLAS  WYETH, 
No.  7 Pear  St.  Philadelphia. 


Printed  bv 

WM.  S.  MARTIEN. 


CONTENTS. 

PREFACE 5 

CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY  ...  7 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  FLIGHT 10 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  IMPRISONMENT .18 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  SECOND  IMPRISONMENT 26 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  THIRD  CAPTIVITY  41 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  GALLEYS  AT  DUNKIRK 46 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  JOURNEY  TO  MARSEILLES  ....  6 1 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  DELIVERANCE  65 

CONCLUDING  REMARKS 79 

(3) 


P IlE  FACE. 


Dear  children,  here  is  a little  book  for 
your  perusal.  It  is  not  adapted  for  mere 
amusement,  but  I think  you  will  find  it  both 
interesting  and  instructive.  Our  path  of  life 
is  not  always  equally  smooth.  We  must  ex- 
pect to  encounter  difficulties,  and  sometimes 
even  dangers.  Should  you  ever  be  exposed 
to  persecutions  similar  to  those  of  these 
youths,  this  little  book  may  afford  you  much 
warning  and  encouragement ; and  if  you  are 
preserved  from  such  trials,  it  may  show  you 
how  grateful  you  ought  to  be  for  your  great 
and  precious  privileges  l 

The  following  narrative  is  extracted  from 
Rambach’s  history  of  the  French  Protestants, 
published  in  the  year  1760,  having  been  first 
published  in  French  in  the  year  1759. 

I have  added  nothing  of  my  own  to  the 
contents  of  this  work,  but  have  given  the 
account  just  as  I found  it,  excepting  that  I 
have  been  obliged  to  omit  much  that  is  inter- 
esting ; otherwise  I should  have  made  it 
longer  than  you  would  have  liked.  As  it  is, 
I hope  it  will  afford  you  both  pleasure  and 
improvement. 


I 


(5) 


r 


THE 


HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

H enry  iv.,  king  of  France,  had,  in  the  year 
1598,  by  the  publication  of  the  Edict  of 
Na.ntes,  secured  to  his  Protestant  subjects  not 
only  the  free  exercise  of  their  religious  wor- 
ship, but  had  also  granted  to  them,  in  com- 
mon with  the  Roman  Catholics,  the  power 
of  holding  offices  and  dignities  of  state.  But 
Louis  xiv.,  his  grandson,  having  resolutely  de- 
termined to  subvert  Protestantism  in  France, 
began,  so  early  as  the  year  1660,  to  violate 
the  privileges  of  the  Huguenots ; and  from 
that  time  he  continued  to  make  greater  in- 
roads upon  their  religious  liberty,  till,  in  1685, 
he  revoked  the  edict  which  had  secured  it. 
The  reformed  clergy  were,  in  consequence, 
immediately  banished;  and  those  provinces 
through  which  the  mountains  of  the  Ceven- 
nes  extend,  and  where  dwelt  the  greater  num- 
ber of  the  professors  of  the  reformed  faith, 
(departments  of  Gard,  Lozere,  and  Ardeehe,) 
became  the  scene  of  the  most  savage  barbarity 
and  horrible  outrage.  Dragoons  and  other 
soldiers  were  sent  into  these  provinces  in  or- 
der to  compel  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  to 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 


renounce  their  faith.  The  persecution  was 
so  oppressive  that  numbers  were  induced  to 
yield  an  early  submission  in  order  to  escape 
its  violence.  About  five  hundred  thousand, 
abandoning  the  greatest  part  of  their  pro- 
perty, sought  refuge  in  the  neighbouring  Pro- 
testant countries,  while  those  who  remained, 
after  having  for  seventeen  years  patiently  en- 
dured the  most  inhuman  treatment,  at  length 
determined  to  resist  their  enemies,  and  took 
up  arms  in  their  own  defence. 

In  the  year  1700,  the  duke  of  F ob- 

tained permission  to  march  to  P — , at  the 
head  of  several  regiments,  in  order  to  compel 
the  Huguenots  who  lived  in  the  royal  towns 
of  this  province  to  embrace  the  Roman  faith. 
He  accordingly  entered  the  town  of  B — , ac- 
companied by  four  Jesuits,  and  escorted  by  a 
regiment  of  dragoons,  whom  he  quartered  on 
the  citizens,  and  whose  inhuman  conduct 
proved  more  effectual  in  inducing  the  Hu- 
guenots to  forsake  their  religion  than  were 
all  the  exhortations  of  the  Jesuits.  The  most 
barbarous  means  were  adopted  to  drive  the 
unhappy  citizens  to  mass,  and  to  persuade 
them  to  abjure  the  Protestant  faith.  For  this 
purpose  a formulary  was  drawn  up,  filled 
with  imprecations  against  the  opinions  of  the 
Pluguenots : this  all  the  inhabitants  of  B — 
were  constrained  to  sign  and  confirm  by  oath. 

At  that  time,  there  lived  in  the  town  a 
worthy  citizen,  to  whom  I shall  give  the  name 
of  Mantel.  Engaged  in  trade,  lie  conscien- 
tiously fulfilled  the  duties  of  his  calling.  As 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 


9 


the  father  of  a family,  he  educated  his  chil- 
dren in  the  fear  of  God,  instructing  them  in 
the  principles  of  true  religion,  whilst,  as  in- 
deed the  circumstances  of  the  times  demand- 
ed, he  sought  to  guard  them  against  the  errors 
of  Popery.  Two  and  twenty  dragoons  were 
quartered  by  the  duke  in  the  house  of  this 
honest  man : nor  was  this  all ; he  himself  was 
arrested,  and  thrown  into  prison,  without  re- 
gard to  law  or  justice.  His  eldest  son  had 
happily  previously  effected  his  escape ; but 
two  others  and  a daughter,  still  in  early  child- 
hood, were  torn  from  their  home,  and  placed 
in  a convent.  And  then  the  unfortunate  mo- 
ther of  this  once  happy  family  was  left  alone, 
surrounded  by  two  and  twenty  ruffians,  who, 
having  first  treated  her  with  the  utmost  bar- 
barity, and  destroyed  everything  in  the  house, 
so  that  nothing  remained  but  the  bore  walls, 
afterwards  dragged  her  into  the  presence  of 
the  duke,  where,  by  the  basest  usage  and 
most  terrible  threats,  she  was  at  length  com- 
pelled to  sign  the  formulary.  The  poor  wo- 
man, weeping  bitterly,  solemnly  protested 
against  this  proceeding,  and,  though  obliged 
to  put  her  name  to  the  document,  yet  she 
determined  publicly  to  state  her  objection. 
When,  therefore,  the  duke  placed  the  formu- 
lary before  her,  she  did  indeed  sign  her  name, 
as  she  was  commanded,  but  added  these 
words,  “The  duke  of  F — has  compelled  me 
to  sign.”  The  duke  insisted  upon  her  scratch- 
ing out  this  bold  declaration,  but  she  steadily 
refused ; and  at  length  one  of  the  Jesuits  took 


10  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

a pen  and  effaced  the  offending  sentence.  But 
we  must  leave  this  unhappy  mother,  and  fol- 
low the  fugitive  son,  the  narrative  of  whose 
escape  we  shall  give  in  his  own  words. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  FLIGHT. 

I fled  from  my  father’s  house  before  the 
dragoons  entered.  It  was  in  October,  1700, 
that  I left  my  home,  being  at  that  time  about 
sixteen  years  of  age ; young  indeed  to  be  ex- 
posed to  such  perils.  With  scarcely  sufficient 
prudence  and  experience  to  extricate  myself 
from  them,  could  I hope  to  elude  the  vigilance 
of  the  soldiers,  who  occupied  all  parts  of  the 
town  ? Nevertheless,  by  God’s  goodness,  I 
was  enabled  to  effect  my  escape.  Accom- 
panied by  a young  friend  I fled  at  night,  with- 
out being  observed,  and,  pursuing  our  journey 
through  a forest,  we  found  ourselves  the  next 
morning  at  M— , a small  town  which  lies 
about  three  leagues  distant  from  B — . From 
thence  we  resolved,  in  spite  of  any  obstacles 
which  might  arise,  to  continue  our  journey  to 
Holland.  We  solemnly  committed  ourselves 
to  the  protection  of  God,  resigning  ourselves 
to  his  will  in  all  the  dangers  which  might 
await  us;  and  determining,  by  his  grace,  not 
to  look  back,  as  did  Lot’s  wife,  but  steadfastly 
to  abide  in  the  profession  of  the  true  faith, 
though  we  should  be  sentenced  on  account 
of  it  to  death  or  hard  labour  in  the  galleys. 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  11 


Having  thus  called  upon  God  for  his  grace 
and  assistance,  we  set  off  cheerfully  on  the 
road  to  Paris.  Our  purse  was  not  particu- 
larly well  stocked,  our  whole  property  con- 
sisting only  often  pistoles,  (about  20s.).  Of 
this  small  sum  we  endeavoured  to  spend  as 
little  as  possible ; and  when  we  were  obliged 
to  purchase  refreshments,  we  always  turned 
into  the  poorest-looking  inn  we  could  find. 
We  met  with  no  accident,  thank  God,  till  we 
arrived  at  Paris,  Nov.  10,  1700,  where,  ac- 
cording to  the  plan  we  had  proposed  to  fol- 
low on  our  departure  from  13 — , we  sought 
an  acquaintance,  from  whom  we  hoped  to 
learn  the  easiest  and  safest  way  of  reaching 
the  frontier  ; and  we  were  so  happy  as  to  ob- 
tain fron  a Protestant  friend  a written  direc- 
tion as  far  as  Mezieres,  an  out-post  on  the 
Meuse,  forming  the  boundary  of  the  Spanish 
Netherlands,  and  joining  the  F orest  of  Ar- 
dennes. This  friend  assured  us  we  had 
nothing  to  fear  till  we  came  to  this  town,  and 
that  we  might,  on  quitting  it,  go  through  the 
Forest  of  Ardennes  to  Charleroi,  which  is 
only  six  miles  distant  from  Mezieres.  Could 
we  only  succeed  m reaching  Charleroi,  which 
was  occupied  by  a Dutch  garrison,  we  should 
be  beyond  the  French  frontier,  and  conse- 
quently in  perfect  security,  But  he  caution- 
ed us,  above  all  things,  to  be  upon  our  guard 
m passing  through  Mezieres;  because  in  that 
town  all  strangers  were  subject  to  a strict  ex- 
amination, and  if  any  were  found  without  a 
passport,  they  were  immediately  thrown  into 


\2  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

prison.  We  accordingly  set  off  upon  our 
journey  from  Paris  to  Mezieres. 

In  the  interior,  travellers  are  allowed  to 
pass  without  being  questioned  by  the  police ; 
it  is  only  in  the  frontier  towns  that  they  are 
strictly  watched.  We  therefore  proceeded 
quietly  on  onr  way  till,  about  five  o’clock  one 
afternoon,  we  came  to  the  top  of  a hill,  from 
whence  we  saw  before  us,  about  a quarter  of 
a mile  from  the  place  where  we  stood,  the 
town  of  Mezieres,  and  the  gate  by  which  we 
must  enter.  It  may  be  easily  imagined  what 
were  our  feelings  as  the  danger  we  were 
about  to  incur  was  so  suddenly  brought  be- 
fore our  eyes.  We  sat  down  upon  the  hill, 
and  considered  how  we  might  best  obtain  ad- 
mission into  the  town.  We  perceived  that 
from  the  gate  was  thrown  a bridge  over  the 
Meuse,  and  that  upon  this  bridge  many  of 
the  citizens  were  walking,  enjoying  the  fine 
weather. 

The  thought  immediately  suggested  itself, 
“ Let  us  mingle  with  the  crowd,  and  walk  up 
and  down  upon  the  bridge,  so  that,  when  the 
citizens  return  into  the  town,  we  may  pass 
through  the  gate  with  the  rest  without  ex- 
citing observation.”  We  immediately  rose, 
took  out  the  clothes  that  were  in  our  knap- 
sacks, dressed  ourselves  in  them,  and  stuffed 
the  knapsacks  into  the  pockets  of  our  coats  ; 
then  rubbing  our  shoes,  and  smoothing  our 
hair,  that  we  might  not  have  the  appearance 
of  travellers,  we  went  down  the  hill,  and,  ar- 
riving at  the  bridge,  we  walked  up  and  down 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLET-SLAVES.  13 


with  the  citizens  till  the  sound  of  the  trumpet 
gave  notice  that  the  gates  were  about  to  be 
closed.  The  citizens  hastened  into  the  town, 
and  we  followed  in  the  throng,  happily  with- 
out being  observed  by  the  sentinel.  We  were 
truly  glad  to  have  escaped  this  danger,  ima- 
gining it  was  the  only  one  we  had  to  fear. 
Truly,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel,  we  had 
reckoned  without  our  host. 

We  could  not  possibly  leave  Mezieres  that 
night,  as  the  gate  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
town  was  locked ; we  were  therefore  obliged 
to  seek  a lodging.  We  entered  the  first  inn 
we  saw ; here  we  were  received  by  the  good 
woman  of  the  house,  her  husband  being  ab- 
sent. We  ordered  supper,  and  about  nine 
o’clock,  just  as  we  were  sitting  down  to  par- 
take of  it,  the  landlord  returned.  His  wife 
informed  him  that,  during  his  absence,  she 
had  admitted  two  young  strangers.  He  asked 
her,  loud  enough  for  us  to  hear,  whether  we 
were  provided  with  a passport  from  the  go- 
vernor : to  which  she  replied,  that  she  had 
not  inquired.  “What,  foolish  woman  !”  he 
continued,  “do  you  wish  to  minus?  You 
know  the  strict  orders  we  have  received  not 
to  let  any  one  remain  in  our  house  without 
permission.  I must  go  directly  with  the 
strangers  to  the  governor.” 

Great  was  our  uneasiness  at  hearing  these 
words.  Our  landlord  presently  entered  the 
apartment  and  inquired,  with  much  civility, 
whether  we  had  seen  the  governor.  We  re- 
plied in  the  negative,  adding,  that  we  had  not 
2 


14  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

considered  it  necessary,  since  we  only  intend- 
ed remaining  one  night  in  the  town.  Upon 
which  he  told  us,  that  if  the  governor  knew 
of  our  being  in  his  house  without  permission, 
he  would  be  fined  to  the  amount  of  a thou- 
sand dollars;  “but,”  said  he,  “have  you  a 
passport,  that  you  venture  thus  into  a frontier 
town?”  In  this  perplexity,  alas  ! we  were 
tempted  to  be  unfaithful  to  the  truth,  and  re- 
plied to  his  question,  apparently  with  perfect 
confidence,  that  we  had  a passport.  “That 
makes  the  case  different,”  returned  our  host; 
“ I have  then  nothing  to  apprehend  from  re- 
ceiving you  into  my  house  without  permis- 
sion. Nevertheless,  you  must  accompany 
me  to  the  governor,  in  order  that  he  may  ex- 
amine your  passport.”  We  objected,  de- 
claring that  we  were  weary  with  our  journey, 
and  that  if  he  would  wait  till  the  next  morn- 
ing, we  would  then  willingly  follow  him.  To 
this  he  was  persuaded  to  agree ; and,  having 
had  our  supper,  we  lay  down  on  the  com- 
fortable beds  prepared  for  us  ; but  we  could 
not  sleep,  so  wholly  were  our  minds  occupied 
with  the  perils  which  surrounded  us. 

IIow  many  plans  did  we  form  during  this 
long  night  for  escaping  from  the  vigilance  of 
the  governor,  while  our  consciences  smote  us 
for  our  past  dissimulation ; and,  since  no  hu- 
man help  was  nigh,  we  could  finally  only 
commit  ourselves,  in  this  overwhelming  trou- 
ble, to  Almighty  God,  imploring  his  assist- 
ance, and  praying  him,  if  it  was  his  will  to 
try  us,  that  he  would  grant  us  courage  and 


the  huguenot  galley-slaves.  15 

steadfastness  to  make  a worthy  confession  of 
evangelical  faith.  As  soon  as  it  was  day,  we 
rose  and  went  into  the  kitchen.  While  we 
were  dressing,  a means  of  escape  had  occurr- 
ed to  us,  namely,  to  leave  the  house,  if  pos- 
sible, unperceived  by  the  host,  and  before  he 
had  time  to  observe  us  more  closely.  He 
slept  in  a room  adjoining  the  kitchen,  and 
hearing  us  there,  inquired  what  we  wanted 
so  early  in  the  morning. 

We  replied  that  we  wished  to  have  break- 
fast before  we  went  to  the  governor’s,  in  or- 
der that  we  might  continue  our  journey  as 
soon  as  we  had  spoken  to  the  governor.  He 
approved  our  plan,  and  desired  the  servant  to 
prepare  our  breakfast  while  he  rose  and 
dressed  himself. 

The  maid  had  forgotten  to  shut  the  kitchen 
door,  which  opened  into  the  street : observing 
this,  we  went  out,  the  host  suspecting  nothing. 
But  no  sooner  were  we  in  the  street,  than 
asking  a little  boy  which  was  the  way  to  the 
gate  that  led  to  Charleville,  we  proceeded 
towards  it,  thus  escaping  the  fatal  inn  with- 
out taking  leave  of  its  inmates.  The  gate 
was  not  very  distant,  and,  passing  through  it 
without  inquiry,  we  went  on  to  Charleville, 
a little  town  within  reach  of  gunshot  from 
Mezieres,  and  which  has  neither  gates  nor  a 
garrison.  Here  we  made  a hearty  breakfast, 
and  then  continuing  our  journey,  we  left 
Charleville,  and  entered  the  Forest  of  Ar- 
dennes. 

There  had  been  a hard  frost  in  the  night, 


16  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

and  the  trees  were  covered  with  icicles. 
When  we  had  proceeded  some  way  through 
the  wood,  we  arrived  at  a place  where  a 
great  many  roads  met,  and  we  were  wholly 
at  a loss  which  way  to  take.  Whilst  we 
were  considering,  a peasant  came  up  to  us, 
and  we  immediately  requested  him  to  show 
us  the  road  to  Charleroi.  He  answered,  at 
the  same  time  shrugging  his  shoulders  signifi- 
cantly, that  he  saw  we  must  be  strangers,  by 
our  proposing  to  go  to  Charleroi  through  the 
forest,  a thing  impossible  for  any  one  not  per- 
fectly acquainted  with  the  road,  since  there 
were  so  many  paths  crossing  each  other 
throughout,  and  not  a village  or  even  a cot- 
tage near ; and  that  if  we  attempted  to  find 
our  way,  we  should  only  get  deeper  into  the 
wood,  and  probably  either  fall  a prey  to  the 
wolves  which  abound  there,  or  perish  with 
cold  and  hunger.  We  offered  the  peasant  a 
louis  d’or,  if  he  would  guide  us  through  the 
forest  to  Charleroi.  “No,”  said  he;  “not  if 
you  would  give  me  a hundred  louis  d’ors.  I 
feel  assured  you  are  Huguenots,  and  have  fled 
from  your  homes ; and  to  render  you  such  a 
service,  would  be  to  fasten  the  halter  on  my 
own  neck.  But  I will  give  you  this  advice: 
leave  the  Forest  of  Ardennes,  and  take  the 
road  to  your  right;  this  will  lead  you  to  a 
village  where  you  may  find  a lodging  for  the 
night,  and  to-morrow  you  can  proceed  on 
your  journey.  Still  keeping  to  the  right,  and 
leaving  Rocroy  to  the  left,  you  will  come  to 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  17 


the  small  town  of  Couve;  through  this  you 
must  pass,  and,  when  you  leave  it,  turn  to  a 
road  to  the  left,  which  will  lead  you  to  Char- 
leroi. The  distance  is  certainly  greater  than 
by  the  Forest  of  Ardennes,  but  it  is  much 
safer.”  We  thanked  the  honest  man,  and 
followed  his  directions. 

We  arrived  at  the  village  he  mentioned, 
where  we  remained  the  night.  Early  the 
next  morning,  we  proceeded  on  our  journey, 
leaving'  Rocroy  to  the  left.  But  the  peasant, 
probably  from  ignorance,  had  omitted  to 
warn  us  that  this  road  led  through  a narrow 
pass  guarded  by  a French  sentinel,  who  was 
under  strict  orders  to  arrest  all  persons  tra- 
velling without  a passport,  and  to  carry  them 
prisoners  to  Rocroy. 

Like  wandering  sheep,  we  strayed  into  the 
lion’s  den.  Nevertheless,  by  the  good  provi- 
dence of  God,  we  escaped  the  impending 
danger;  for  as  we  entered  the  narrow  pass, 
there  fell  so  heavy  a shower  of  rain,  that  the 
sentinel  ran  for  shelter  into  the  guard  house, 
and  we  thus  passed  by  without  exciting  his 
observation.  We  shortly  after  arrived  at 
Couve,  where  we  might  have  remained  in 
perfect  security,  had  we  known  that  this  little 
town  was  beyond  the  French  frontier.  It  be- 
longed to  the  prince  of  Liege ; and  it  was 
within  gunshot  of  that  place,  which  was 
manned  by  a Dutch  garrison,  and  the  gover- 
nor was  accustomed  to  grant  an  escort  to  all 
fugitives,  who  wished  to  go  to  Charleroi. 

2* 


18  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

But  of  this  we  were  not  aware,  and  God 
allowed  us  to  remain  in  ignorance,  in  order 
to  fry  our  faith  by  the  experience  of  the 
greatest  misery. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  IMPRISONMENT. 

Having  eluded  the  vigilance  of  the  sentinel 
at  the  entrance  to  Couve,  we  proceeded  im- 
mediately to  the  inn,  in  order  to  dry  our 
clothes,  which  were  thoroughly  soaked  by 
the  rain,  and  to  obtain  some  refreshment. 
Here  a very  trying  circumstance  was  the 
cause  of  all  our  subsequent  misfortunes. 
Having  ordered  some  beer,  it  was  brought  to 
us  in  a can,  and  on  our  requesting  the  land- 
lord to  fetch  glasses,  he  remarked  that  he 
perceived  that  we  were  Frenchmen,  or  we 
should  have  been  contented  to  have  drunk 
from  the  can,  according  to  the  customs  of  the 
country. 

There  were  several  persons  in  the  room 
when  the  landlord  spoke  ; and,  among  others, 
an  inhabitant  of  the  town,  and  a ranger  in 
the  service  of  the  prince  of  Liege.  This  lat- 
ter took  upon  himself  to  examine  us,  and 
sitting  down  beside  us,  he  began  by  saying, 
“ I will  lay  a wager  that  you  have  no  rosary 
with  you.”  My  companion  happened  at 
the  time  to  be  grating  snuff,  and  thoughtless- 
ly replied,  holding  up  his  grater,  “ Here  is 
my  rosary.”  This  confirmed  the  ranger  in 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  19 


his  opinion  that  we  were  Protestants,  and  he 
immediately  formed  the  resolution  of  betray- 
ing us.  Meanwhile,  suspecting  nothing,  we 
left  Couve;  and,  following  the  directions  of 
the  peasant,  took  the  road  to  the  left.  But 
we  had  not  walked  far,  before  we  perceived 
a man  on  horseback  (whom,  from  his  appear- 
ance, we  judged  to  be  an  officer)  coming  to 
meet  us ; and  alarmed  lest  he  might  prove  an 
enemy,  we  retraced  our  steps,  and  turned 
down  the  road  that  led  to  Marienburg. 

Marienburg  is  a very  small  town,  and  has 
only  one  gate.  We  ought  to  have  pursued 
our  journey  to  Charleroi,  but  as  the  evening 
was  far  advanced,  we  thought  it  better  to  re- 
main for  the  night  at  an  inn  opposite  the 
gate,  where  we  found  a comfortable  lodging, 
and  hoped  to  obtain  some  hours’  repose.  But 
we  had  not  been  there  more  than  half  an 
hour  when  a man  entered  the  room,  and  in- 
quired, with  much  civility,  whence  we  came, 
and  whither  we  were  going:  supposing  him 
to  be  the  landlord,  we  replied  that  we  came 
from  Paris,  and  were  on  our  road  to  Philippe- 
ville.  “ 1 must  inform  the  governor  of  your 
arrival,”  he  continued.  We  tried  to  put  him 
off  as  we  had  done  the  landlord  at  Mezieres, 
but  to  no  purpose ; for  he  commanded  us  in 
a haughty  tone  to  follow  him  immediately. 
Notwithstanding  this  unexpected  misfortune, 
we  were  not  discouraged,  and  rose  to  accom- 
pany him  with  apparent  indifference ; I say- 
ing to  my  companion,  in  our  own  language, 
which  the  stranger  did  not  understand,  that 


20  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

as  the  night  was  so  dark,  we  might  possibly 
escape  in  our  way  to  the  governor’s.  But 
this  we  soon  found  would  be  impossible;  for 
in  the  court  stood  eight  soldiers  with  fixed 
bayonets,  and  at  their  head  the  treacherous 
ranger  from  Couve,  who  was  the  cause  of 
our  arrest.  We  proceeded  to  the  governor’s 
house,  and  were  conducted  into  his  presence. 
He  demanded  of  us  from  whence  we  were 
come,  and  what  was  our  destination.  To 
the  first  question  we  answered  truly;  but  to 
the  second  we  replied  that  we  were  barbers, 
and  were  on  our  road  to  Philippeville ; from 
thence  it  was  our  intention  to  visit  Maubeuge, 
Valenciennes,  Cambray,  and  other  places, 
and  then  to  return  to  our  native  town.  The 
governor,  in  order  to  convince  himself  of  the 
truth  of  our  statement,  desired  one  of  his  ser- 
vants, a barber  by  trade,  to  examine  what 
proficiency  we  had  made  in  the  art.  He 
happily  turned  to  my  companion,  who  had 
learned  the  business,  and  his  answers  ap- 
peared to  satisfy  the  governor,  who  further 
inquired,  “What  religion  do  you  profess?” 
To  this  we  openly  replied  that  we  were 
attached  to  the  reformed  religion  ; for  on  this 
most  solemn  subject  we  should  have  been 
ashamed  to  be  unfaithful  to  the  truth.  Would 
to  God  that  we  had  answered  with  equal 
sincerity  the  other  questions  which  the  gov- 
ernor put  to  us ; for,  as  I have  learned  by 
painful  experience,  in  order  to  keep  the  con- 
science clear,  and  maintain  a firm  confidence 
in  God — in  order  to  avoid  stumbling  on  a 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLET-SLAVES.  21 


slippery  path,  one  must  carefully  shun  the 
ways  of  falsehood.  But,  alas  ! how  prone  is 
the  human  heart  to  depart  from  uprightness! 
How  easily  is  it  led  into  a snare ; led  away 
by  fear  or  numberless  other  motives,  to  deny 
the  truth,  even  when  it  has  the  clearest  ap- 
prehension of  that  which  is  right,  and  the 
sincerest  desire  to  practise  it ! And  having 
once  been  led  into  sin,  it  falls  naturally  from 
one  transgression  to  another,  till  it  is  brought 
into  bondage,  and  finds  it  impossible  to  escape. 
I look  back  with  deep  and  painful  repentance, 
upon  these  deviations  from  the  path  of  recti- 
tude. 

When  the  governor  charged  us  with  an 
intention  of  quitting  the  kingdom,  we  denied 
most  strongly  having  ever  formed  such  a 
resolution. 

The  examination  lasted  an  hour,  after 
which  the  governor  commanded  the  major  of 
the  garrison  to  see  us  safely  lodged  in  the 
public  prison.  On  the  way  thither,  the  ma- 
jor, M.  de  la  Salle,  asked  me  whether  it  was 
true  that  I was  a native  of  B — ; and  when  I 
positively  declared  that  this  was  the  cose,  he 
continued,  “ I myself  was  born  there,  and 
formerly  lived  about  a mile  from  that  town. 
What  is  your  name  ?”  “ Mantel,”  I replied. 

“ Indeed  !”  he  exclaimed,  “ your  father,  then, 
is  one  of  my  earliest  friends.  Be  comforted, 
my  children;  I shall  do  all  in  my  power  to 
deliver  you  from  your  unfortunate  situation, 
and  I trust  in  two  or  three  days  to  be  able  to 
restore  you  to  liberty.”  While  he  spoke,  we 


22  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

arrived  at  the  prison ; at  the  sight  of  its 
gloomy  walls  we  were  overwhelmed  with 
anguish.  “Alas!”  we  asked  with  tears, 
“ what  crime  have  we  committed,  that  we 
should  be  treated  as  criminals  worthy  of  the 
severest  punishment?”  “ My  children,”  an- 
swered the  major  compassionately,  “ I must 
obey  orders ; but,  if  it  be  possible,  I will  pre- 
vent your  remaining  all  night  in  this  detesta- 
ble place.”  He  left  us,  and  went  directly  to 
the  governor,  whom  he  informed,  that  having 
searched  our  persons,  and  found  us  in  posses- 
sion of  nothing  but  a five  dollar  piece,  he 
was  fully  convinced  that  we  had  never  medi- 
tated an  escape  from  France,  and  that  he 
thought  it  was  .but  just  to  set  us  at  liberty. 
Unfortunately,  the  post  for  Paris  had  been 
despatched  that  evening,  and  by  it  the  gover- 
nor had  written  to  inform  the  court  of  our 
arrest.  It  was  therefore  no  longer  in  his 
power  to  dismiss  us ; but,  at  the  major’s 
earnest  entreaty,  he  permitted  us  to  leave  the 
dungeon,  and  take  up  our  abode  in  the  jailer’s 
house;  our  kind  benefactor  pledging  his  word 
that  we  should  not  escape. 

In  about  half  an  hour,  the  major  returned 
to  the  prison,  accompanied  by  a corporal  and 
private  of  the  guard,  and  informed  us  that  he 
had  obtained  permission  for  us  to  lodge  in  an 
apartment  in  the  jailer’s  house ; to  whose 
care  lie  entrusted  the  money  we  had  pre- 
viously given  up  to  him,  saying  that,  so  long 
as  it  lasted,  it  was  to  be  used  for  our  support. 
The  kindness  of  the  major  softened,  in  some 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  23 

degree,  the  sad  intelligence  he  brought  us  from 
the  governor,  as  to  the  possibility  of  our  re- 
lease. Shortly  afterwards,  a very  favourable 
representation  of  our  case  was  sent  to  the 
court  at  Paris,  but  our  confession  of  the  Pro- 
testant faith  so  irritated  M.  de  la  Brilliere,  the 
minister  of  state,  that  he  thought  no  other 
part  of  the  letter  worthy  of  his  attention  ; and 
he  despatched  immediate  orders  to  the  gover- 
nor of  Marienburg,  that  being  convicted  of 
having  passed  the  boundary  without  a pass- 
port, we  should  without  further  delay  be  sen- 
tenced to  the  galleys ; but  that,  before  the 
sentence  was  carried  into  execution,  the  priest 
at  Marienburg  was  to  do  all  in  his  power  to 
persuade  us  to  enter  the  Romish  church  ; and 
that  if  he  succeeded  in  converting  us  to  the 
true  faith,  we  might  obtain  a free  pardon,  be 
set  at  liberty,  and  sent  back  to  13 — . The 
major  himself  read  this  letter  to  us,  remark- 
ing, when  he  had  concluded  it,  “ Do  not  ex- 
pect me  to  advise  you  as  to  your  future  con- 
duct; your  consciences  alone  must  decide. 
All  I can  say  is  this  : in  renouncing  the  Pro- 
testant doctrines,  you  will  open  the  doors  of 
your  prison ; and  to  abide  in  them,  will  in- 
evitably lead  you  to  the  galleys.”  We  an- 
swered him  thus:  “We  have  placed  our 
whole  confidence  in  God,  and  we  humbly 
submit  ourselves  to  his  good  pleasure.  Hu- 
man help  we  do  not  expect ; but  by  the  grace 
of  Him,  upon  whom  we  continually  call  for 
support,  we  will  never  deny  the  reformed 
faith,  or  renounce  the  divine  principles  of  our 


24  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

holy  religion.  Do  not  suppose  our  decision 
proceeds  from  obstinacy  or  self-will.  We 
thank  God  it  is  from  knowledge,  and  a firm 
conviction  of  the  truth  of  those  tenets  which 
our  parents  have  taken  so  much  pains  to 
teach  us,  and,  on  the  contrary,  of  the  errors 
of  the  Romish  church,  that  we  now  remain 
constant  in  our  adherence  to  the  Protestant 
faith.”  We  then  warmly  thanked  the  major 
for  the  exertions  he  had  made  in  our  behalf, 
assuring  him  that,  though  we  had  no  means 
of  openly  testifying  our  gratitude,  he  would 
be  daily  remembered  in  our  prayers.  Our 
kind  friend  embraced  us  with  fatherly  affec- 
tion, declaring  he  felt  as  deeply  on  the  sub- 
ject as  ourselves  ; and  hurried  away  to  con- 
ceal his  emotion.  I truly  believe  he  was  in 
heart  a Protestant,  and  only  externally  con- 
formed to  the  rites  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church. 

Meanwhile  our  money  was  nearly  spent, 
and  we  received  daily  from  the  jailer  only  a 
pound  and  a half  of  bread ; but  as  we  were 
alternately  furnished  with  provisions  by  the 
governor  and  our  friend  the  major,  and,  by 
the  kindness  of  the  chief  ecclesiastic,  as  well 
as  the  monks,  were  also  liberally  supplied, 
we  were  even  able  to  contribute  to  the  main- 
tenance of  the  jailer  and  his  family.  The 
confessor  visited  us  almost  daily,  and  put  into 
our  hands  a Romish  catechism,  which  we 
compared  with  the  catechism  of  Drelincourt 
which  we  had  with  us.  The  priest  gave  us 
permission  to  dispute  with  him,  either  from 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  25 


tradition,  or  from  the  Holy  Scriptures ; but, 
when  we  chose  the  latter,  he  was  not  well 
pleased,  and  dropped  the  subject  after  two  or 
three  conversations.  Finding  that  all  his  en- 
deavours to  win  us,  by  the  prospect  of  tem- 
poral advantage,  were  fruitless,  this  priest 
declared,  both  to  the  governor  and  to  the  re- 
corder, that  he  could  give  no  hope  of  our  con- 
version, for  that  we  obstinately  rendered  all 
arguments  unavailing.  It  was  then  resolved 
to  pronounce  our  sentence.  The  recorder 
and  his  clerk  came  to  the  prison,  and  com- 
menced a judicial  examination.  Two  days 
afterwards,  we  heard  our  sentence,  which 
ran  thus : “ That  having  been  convicted  of 
endeavouring  to  escape  the  kingdom  contrary 
to  the  command  of  the  king,  of  passing  the 
boundary  without  a passport,  and,  above  all, 
of  being,  according  to  our  own  confession, 
Protestants,  we  were  sentenced  to  hard  la- 
bour in  the  galleys  for  life.”  The  recorder 
asked  whether  we  would  appeal  to  the  high 
court  at  Tournay.  We  replied,  that  since  all 
men  were  against  us,  we  desired  to  appeal 
from  this  unjust  sentence  to  the  judgment- 
seat.  of  God.  “ I beg  of  you,”  he  continued, 
“not  to  ascribe  to  me  the  extreme  severity 
of  your  punishment.  No,  believe  me,  it  is 
by  command  of  the  king  that  you  are  con- 
demned; but,  since  you  will  not  appeal  for 
yourselves,  my  duty  requires  that  I should  do 
so  in  your  names,  to  the  parliament.  Prepare 
yourselves, therefore, to  go  to  Tournay.”  “We 
are  prepared  for  everything,”  was  our  reply. 

3 


26  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  SECOND  IMPRISONMENT. 

We  were  not  again  permitted  to  quit  our 
prison  till  we  commenced  our  journey  to 
Tournay.  We  made  it  on  foot,  guarded  by 
four  constables,  our  arms  bound  with  a cord, 
by  which  also  we  were  fastened  together  ; 
and,  in  this  disgraceful  manner,  we  passed 
through  Philippeville,  Maubeuge,  and  Val- 
enciennes. In  the  evening,  when  we  had 
finished  our  day’s  march,  we  were  thrown 
into  a loathsome  prison,  where  we  were 
obliged  to  lie  upon  the  hard  ground,  without 
even  a little  straw  to  cover  us,  bread  and 
water  being  the  only  food  allowed  us.  Thus 
were  we  treated  like  the  vilest  criminals, 
worthy  of  the  most  ignominious  punishments. 
When  we  arrived  at  Tournay,  we  were 
placed  in  the  parliament  prison.  We  had 
not  a farthing  of  money  left,  and  being  given 
daily  only  a pound  and  a half  of  bread,  and 
no  longer  supplied  by  the  bounty  of  charita- 
ble persons,  we  expected  to  be  almost  starved 
to  death. 

To  increase  our  distress,  the  priest  prevail- 
ed upon  the  parliament  to  delay  our  trial  till 
he  should,  as  he  said,  succeed  in  converting 
us  to  the  true  faith;  but  (whether  from  in- 
dolence, or  from  the  hope  of  overcoming  our 
resolution,  by  making  us  suffer  the  pangs  of 
hunger,  I know  not)  he  never  visited  us  more 
than  once  a week,  and  sometimes  only  once 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 


in  the  fortnight ; and  then  spoke  so  little  upon 
the  subject  of  religion,  that  we  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  defending  ourselves,  and  on  one  oc- 
casion, when  we  endeavoured  to  express  our 
opinions,  he  interrupted  us,  saying,  “ Another 
time and  immediately  left  the  prison. 
Meanwhile  we  became  so  thin  and  weak, 
that  we  could  scarcely  hold  ourselves  upright. 
A little  damp  straw,  full  of  vermin  was  our 
only  couch,  and  yet  on  this  we  were  glad  to 
rest ; happily,  it  was  near  the  door,  or  we 
should  never  have  been  able  to  reach  our 
food,  which  was  thrown  to  us  as  if  we  had 
been  dogs.  In  this  extreme  misery,  we  sold 
our  coats  and  waistcoats  to  the  turnkey  for  a 
little  bread  ; and  indeed,  shortly  after,  all  our 
clothes,  excepting  those  we  had  on  our  backs ; 
but,  alas  ! these  soon  became  old  and  tattered. 
No  one  visited  us  but  the  priest,  whose  only 
question  was,  whether  we  were  not  weary 
of  enduring  so  much  misery : he  added  that 
no  mercy  would  be  shown  to  us,  because  our 
freedom  only  depended  upon  ourselves  ; in 
order  to  obtain  it,  we  had  only  to  renounce 
the  errors  of  Calvin.  His  language  at  last 
growing  harsh  and  offensive,  we  gave  him 
no  further  reply. 

We  had  been  about  six  weeks  in  this  dis- 
tressing situation,  when,  early  one  morning, 
the  turnkey  threw  a broom  into  the  dungeon, 
and  bid  us  immediately  make  haste  to  sweep 
it  clean  ; for  that  they  were  going  to  bring 
two  young  noblemen  to  bear  us  company. 
We  asked  of  what  crime  they  were  accused. 


28  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

“ Of  being  Huguenots,  like  yourselves,”  he 
answered.  In  a quarter  of  an  hour,  the  doors 
ot’  our  prison  were  again  thrown  open,  and 
the  jailer  entered,  followed  by  several  sol- 
diers, who  conducted  two  young  gentlemen 
richly  apparelled ; and  having  seen  them 
safely  lodged,  and  the  doors  locked,  the  whole 
party  retired.  As  soon  as  they  were  gone, 
we  went  up  to  salute  our  companions.  VVe 
had  immediately  recognized  in  them  two  of 
our  former  school-fellows,  the  sons  of  respecta- 
ble citizens  in  B — . I shall  speak  of  the  one 
as  Salmon,  and  of  the  other  as  Roubert ; but 
the  former  gave  himself  out  as  being  the 
chevalier  de  Salmon,  and  the  other  called  him- 
self the  marquis  de  Roubert,  hoping  that,  if 
they  assumed  these  titles,  they  would  be  able 
the  more  easily  to  effect  their  escape  from 
France. 

They  were  astonished  beyond  measure 
when  we  addressed  them  by  their  names ; for, 
emaciated  as  we  were  by  suffering,  they  did 
not  recognize  us ; nor  was  their  surprise  di- 
minished when  we  made  ourselves  known  to 
them.  They  told  us  that  our  relations  and 
friends  had  long  mourned  our  loss ; for  (not 
having  heard  of  us  for  the  last  six  months  or 
more)  they  supposed  we  had  either  fallen  a 
prey  to  sickness,  or  had  been  murdered  on 
our  journey.  The  fact  was,  that  during  our 
captivity,  we  were  not  allowed  to  write  to 
any  one.  After  this  explanation,  we  heartily 
embraced,  and  bewailed  together  our  sad  fate. 
Our  fellow-prisoners  inquired  if  we  had  any- 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  29 


thing  for  them  to  eat,  as  they  were  very  hun- 
gry : we  gave  them  our  portion  of  bread. 
They  exclaimed  ; “ Is  this  the  way  they  mean 
to  treat  us  likewise  ? And  will  not  even  mo- 
ney purchase  a little  food  ?”  “ Oh  yes,”  we 
replied,  “ if  you  are  supplied  with  money,  you 
will  do  well  enough  ; but  our  misfortune  is, 
that  for  the  last  three  months  we  have  had 
none  at  all.”  “ Oh,”  said  they,  “ if  money- 
will  purchase  what  we  want,  we  have  plen- 
ty ;”  and  with  that,  they  pulled  out  of  their 
pockets  and  shoes,  where  they  had  concealed 
it,  gold  to  the  amount  of  four  hundred  louis 
d’ors.  We  felt  unspeakable  pleasure  at  the 
sight  of  this  treasure  ; for  now  we  might  hope 
for  some  relief  from  the  intolerable  pangs  of 
hunger,  which  we  daily  suffered  for  want  of 
sufficient  food.  They  put  into  my  hand  a 
five  dollar  piece,  begging  me  to  order  a good 
supply  of  provisions  immediately.  I was  not 
slow  to  obey,  and  my  loud  calls  soon  sum- 
moned the  turnkey.  I gave  him  the  five 
dollar  piece,  desiring  him  to  bring  us  some- 
thing to  eat  as  soon  as  possible.  “Very  well, 
gentlemen,”  he  replied ; “ what  will  you 
have  ? some  soup  and  boiled  meat  ?”  “ Yes, 
yes,”  I said  ; “ and  plenty  of  bread  and  beer.” 
“ I will  return  with  your  dinner  in  an  hour,” 
he  answered,  as  he  left  the  prison.  “An 
hour  !”  I exclaimed.  “ Oh  what  a long  time 
to  wait !”  The  strangers  could  not  help 
laughing  at  my  impatience  ; but  they  had 
made  a hearty  meal  not  many  hours  before, 
and  had  not  experienced  the  pangsof  hunger. 

3* 


30  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

At  last  the  turnkey  returned,  bringing  with 
him  so  abundant  a supply  of  provisions,  that 
I really  believe  a dozen  hungry  men  would 
have  found  enough  to  satisfy  their  appetites. 
As  for  my  companion  and  me,  we  ate  so 
heartily,  that,  reduced  as  we  were  by  long 
fasting,  a severe  fit  of  indigestion  was  the 
consequence  of  our  imprudence.  After  our 
repast,  our  friends  inquired  by  what  unfortu- 
nate circumstances  we  were  reduced  to  so 
miserable  a condition ; upon  which  we  gave 
an  exact  account  of  all  that  had  befallen  us 
since  our  departure  from  B — . When  we 
had  concluded,  they  replied  by  lamenting 
their  own  weakness,  confessing  that  they  had 
not  the  courage  to  adopt  so  decided  a line  of 
conduct  as  we  had  done ; but  that  they  had 
resolved  rather  to  renounce  their  religion  than 
submit  to  the  disgrace  of  being  sentenced  to 
the  galleys.  “ What !”  I exclaimed  ; “ would 
you  set  us  such  an  example  ? Better,  far 
better  for  us  had  we  never  seen  you,  than 
that  we  should  have  to  witness  your  depar- 
ture from  the  faith  ! a step  so  opposed  to  the 
education  you  have  received,  and  to  the 
knowledge  of  those  truths  in  which  you  have 
been  instructed  ! Do  you  not  fear  the  right- 
eous judgment  of  God  ? Saith  he  not  that 
those  who  know  his  will  and  do  it  not,  shall 
be  beaten  with  many  more  stripes  than  those 
who  know  it  not  ? Can  there  be  a more  aw- 
ful warning?”  They  answered,  “We  can- 
not possibly  submit  to  becoming  slaves  at  the 
galleys.  You  are  very  happy  in  having  firm- 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  31 


ness  to  endure  this  ignominious  punishment, 
and  vve  commend  your  constancy  ; but  let  us 
say  no  more  upon  the  subject : our  resolution 
is  taken,  and  we  shall  not  change  it.”  We 
could  only  lament  their  weakness,  and  pray 
that  God  in  his  mercy,  would  deliver  them 
from  their  errors. 

Two  days  after  this  conversation,  they  were 
summoned  before  the  parliament,  shortly  ex- 
amined, and  finally  asked  whether  they 
would  consent  to  embrace  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic religion.  They  replied,  that  it  was  their 
earnest  desire  so  to  do.  “Well,”  returned 
the  president,  “ you  shall  have  the  necessary 
instruction  previous  to  the  public  abjuration 
of  your  Protestant  errors,  and  we  will  then 
immediately  proceed  to  your  liberation.’’ 
They  were,  in  the  mean  time,  sent  back  to 
prison,  where  they  arrived  in  high  spirits; 
but  we  could  not  sympathize  in  their  joy, 
feeling  the  greatest  detestation  of  their  apos- 
tasy. In  the  course  of  a few  hours  after  their 
examination  before  the  parliament,  they  were 
visited  by  the  priest,  who  bestowed  on  them 
the  highest  praises  for  their  conduct,  and  put 
into  their  hands  a catechism,  which  he  de- 
sired them  to  learn,  as  their  deliverance  de- 
pended on  their  making  themselves  thorough- 
ly acquainted  with  it.  The  young  men 
studied  accordingly  day  and  night;  but,  on 
the  third  evening,  all  their  hopes  of  freedom 
were  unfortunately  dispelled  by  the  arrival 
of  two  messengers,  who  came  to  conduct  them 
before  the  parliament,  whither  they  were 


32  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

taken  with  their  hands  bound  like  criminals. 
The  president  addressed  them  thus:  “Gen- 
tlemen, it  is  now  three  days  since  we  pro- 
mised to  set  you  at  liberty,  on  condition  of 
your  renouncing  the  Protestant  faith.  We 
do  not  wish  to  deceive  you,  and,  therefore, 
think  it  right  to  tell  you  that  it  is  no  longer  in 
our  power  to  fulfil  "that  promise.  We  have 
received  a letter  from  the  court,  in  which  we 
have  positive  orders  to  proceed  against  you, 
according  to  the  severity  of  that  law  which 
prohibits  any  French  subject  from  quitting 
the  kingdom.  By  command  of  the  king,  you 
are  sentenced  to  the  galleys.  You  may  now, 
gentlemen,  renounce  your  religion,  if  you 
please  : such  a noble  step  would  be  com- 
mendable in  the  highest  degree  ; but,  we  re- 
peat, it  will  not  now  procure  your  freedom.” 
They  answered,  that  in  this  case,  they  would 
prefer  adhering  to  the  reformed  doctrines. 
“ Excellent  Catholics  !”  exclaimed  the  presi- 
dent, and  remanded  them  to  prison.  They 
were  now  as  much  bowed  down  with  shame 
and  grief,  as  they  had  been  formerly  elated 
by  hope,  and  they  constantly  lamented  with 
tears  their  sad  destiny.  In  less  than  a week, 
their  sentence  was  read  to  them,  which  de- 
clared that  they  were  condemned  for  life  to 
labour  at  the  galleys. 

The  day  after  this  sentence  had  been  pass- 
ed against  them,  they  were  conducted  by  four 
constables,  on  foot,  to  Lisle.  The  people 
thronged  the  streets  to  see  them  pass,  be- 
lieving that  they  belonged  to  one  of  the  first 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  33 


families  in  France,  as  they  had  assumed  the 
titles  of  nobility.  At  Lisle,  they  were  visited 
by  the  Jesuits,  who  at  last  persuaded  them 
openly  to  profess  the  Catholic  religion,  by 
promising  to  use  every  means  in  their  power 
to  obtain  their  liberty,  which,  after  many 
fruitless  exertions,  they  did  actually  accom- 
plish, through  the  influence  of  madame  de 
Maintenon  ; who  not  only  procured  them  this 
favour,  but  further  got  them  commissions  in 
one  of  the  French  regiments,  and  we  after- 
wards heard  that  they  both  perished  in  a bat- 
tle against  the  Huguenots.  I have  already 
related  what  assistance  they  had  given  us  in 
our  great  distress  for  food.  Knowing  that 
they  had  plenty  of  money,  and  fearing  we 
should  again  suffer  from  hunger,  I was  in- 
clined to  ask  them  to  lend  me  three  or  four 
louis  d’ors,  which  I promised  them  should  be 
paid  back  to  them  from  B — ; but  my  request 
was  in  vain.  Little  touched  by  our  misery, 
they  would  only  leave  us  half  a louis  d’or, 
and  this  I returned  to  them  shortly  after,  when 
we  met  in  the  prison  at  Lisle,  a few  days  be- 
fore they  were  set  at  liberty.  In  the  mean 
time,  we  lived  as  frugally  as  possible,  and 
never  tasted  anything  but  bread. 

I have  mentioned  that  the  parliamentary 
confessor  occasionally  visited  us,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  convincing  us  of  our  errors  by 
sound  and  rational  arguments,  but  to  see 
whether  continued  privation  would  not  re- 
duce us  to  submission.  About  this  time,  the 
bishop  of  Tournay,  hearing  of  our  condition, 


34  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEl'-SLAVES. 

sent  his  chaplain  to  instruct  us.  He  was  a 
good  old  man,  but  little  acquainted  with  con- 
troversy. He  told  us  that  he  came  by  order 
of  the  bishop  to  convert  us  to  the  Christian 
faith.  We  replied,  that  we  were  already 
Christians  by  baptism,  and  by  our  belief  in 
the  gospel  of  Christ.  “ What !”  he  exclaimed 
with  surprise,  “are  you  Christians?”  Sup- 
posing he  had  made  some  mistake,  he  asked 
our  names,  and  looked  at  his  tablets  to  ascer- 
tain that  we  were  the  persons  to  whom  he 
had  been  sent.  We  told  him  our  Christian 
and  surnames.  “ You  are  certainly  the  per- 
sons I was  desired  to  visit,”  he  replied.  “ Let 
me  hear  you  repeat  the  articles  of  your  faith.” 
We  answered  him  by  saying  the  Apostles’ 
Creed.  “Do  you  believe  in  that?”  he  in- 
quired ; and  when  we  assured  him  that  we 
firmly  believed  in  the  doctrines  it  contains, 
he  declared,  with  some  displeasure,  that  the 
bishop  must  have  wished  to  make  a fool  of 
him,  (it  was  the  1st  of  April,  1701  ;)  and 
adding  that  a man  of  his  age  and  character 
ought  not  to  have  been  so  trifled  with,  he 
hastily  left  us.  The  next  morning  the  bishop 
sent  his  grand  vicar,  Mr.  Regnier,  a very  in- 
telligent, kind-hearted  man,  and  who  was 
better  acquainted  with  theology  than  the  good 
old  chaplain.  Finding  us  well  grounded  in 
the  articles  of  the  Protestant  faith,  and  firmly 
persuaded  of  the  errors  of  the  Romish  church, 
he  was  the  more  desirous  of  effecting  our  con- 
version. He  visited  us  daily,  and  though  we 
never  could  agree  on  the  subject  of  religion, 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  35 


since  he  held  fast  by  tradition,  and  we  by  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  yet  he  took  every  opportu- 
nity of  showing  us  kindness.  Seeing  that  we 
were  greatly  in  want  of  clothes,  he  left  a sup- 
ply for  us  at  the  prison,  particularly  desiring 
we  should  not  be  told  whence  it  came  ; and 
in  Passion  week,  having,  with  the  bishop’s 
permission,  given  each  of  the  prisoners  six 
groshen,  he  presented  us,  in  the  prelate’s 
name,  with  four  iouis  d’ors.  We  at  first  re- 
fused to  accept  them  ; but,  on  his  representing 
to  us  that  the  bishop  would  impute  our  re- 
luctance to  pride,  we  accepted  his  kindness 
with  gratitude  : indeed  we  found  his  present 
most  useful,  for  we  were  greatly  distressed 
for  want  of  money  to  purchase  the  necessaries 
of  life. 

The  confessor  of  the  parliament  was  dis- 
pleased at  the  grand  vicar’s  exertions  in  our 
behalf.  He  disputed  his  right  to  visit  the 
prison,  saying  it  did  not  belong  to  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  bishop.  By  the  prelate’s  influ- 
ence we  were,  therefore,  transferred  to  the 
state  prison ; and  here  we  were  far  more  com- 
fortable than  before.  Many  respectable  Pro- 
testant citizens  at  Tournay  obtained  permis- 
sion to  see  us,  and,  by  large  presents  of 
money,  induced  the  jailer  to  allow  us  to  pass 
a few  hours  every  morning  in  the  court  be- 
fore the  house.  Here  our  faithful  friends 
often  visited  us,  supported  us  with  their 
counsel,  and  exhorted  us  to  remain  steadfast 
in  the  faith.  The  grand  vicar  found  them 
with  us  several  times,  and,  far  from  being 


36  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

displeased,  begged  them  to  remain  and  listen 
to  our  conversation.  The  argument  which 
followed  often  lasted  for  a couple  of  hours, 
and,  at  its  conclusion,  the  vicar  would  send 
for  wine,  and  insist  upon  our  drinking  each 
other’s  health  before  we  parted.  At  last, 
finding  that  we  could  not  agree  upon  the 
subject  in  dispute,  he  proposed  a compromise. 
‘‘You  are  at  liberty,”  said  he,  “to  reject  the 
invocation  of  the  virgin,  the  worship  of  im- 
ages, the  adoration  of  the  saints,  purgatory, 
indulgences,  and  pilgrimages,  if  you  will  be- 
lieve in  transubstantiation  and  the  sacrifice 
of  the  mass,  and  agree  to  renounce  the  errors 
of  Calvin.”  We  assured  him  that  our  con- 
sciences would  never  allow  us  to  renounce 
any  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Protestant  faith. 
From  that  time  his  visits  became  less  frequent, 
and  they  soon  ceased  altogether.  But  we 
had  reason  to  believe  that  his  kind  feeling 
toward  us  continued;  for  a few  days  after- 
wards a member  of  parliament  called  at  the 
prison,  and,  informing  us  that  we  had  been 
particularly  recommended  to  his  attention, 
added  that  he  came  to  make  himself  exactly 
acquainted  with  all  the  particulars  of  our 
case.  We  could  only  suppose  that  our  kind 
friend,  the  grand  vicar,  had  spoken  to  this 
gentleman ; for  we  knew  no  one  else  from 
whom  the  recommendation  could  be  likely 
to  proceed.  The  member  remained  an  hour 
with  us,  and  asked  many  questions  as  to 
which  road  we  had  taken  from  B — , and 
what  had  befallen  us  on  our  journey.  We 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  37 


gave  him  an  accurate  account  of  all  that  had 
happened  since  we  quitted  our  homes.  He 
listened  attentively  till  we  mentioned  our 
unfortunate  visit  to  Couve,  and  then  inter- 
rupted us,  by  asking  whether  we  could  prove 
our  having  been  in  an  inn  in  that  town.  We 
answered  that  nothing  could  be  more  easy 
than  to  do  so.  “ Well  then,  my  young- 
friends,”  he  continued,  “if  this  be  the  case,  I 
can  encourage  you  to  hope  that  your  affairs 
may  yet  have  a happy  termination.  I will 
send  a lawyer  to-morrow  morning,  who  will 
draw  up  a petition,  which  you  must  sign : 
and  I trust  you  will  experience  the  advan- 
tage of  following  my  advice.”  He  left  us; 
and  the  very  next  morning  a lawyer  brought 
the  petition  for  our  signatures.  The  petition 
was  as  follows : “ That  though  we  were  Pro- 
testants, we  had  not  made  ourselves  obnoxi- 
ous to  those  punishments  denounced  in  the 
royal  edict  against  fugitives,  because  we 
could  prove  that  we  never  had  any  inten- 
tion of  escaping  from  France.  It  was  evi- 
dent that  after  we  had  quitted  the  kingdom 
we  had  voluntarily  returned  to  it,  since  we 
had  been  in  Couve,  a city  belonging  to  the 
Prince  of  Liege,  and  defended  by  a Dutch 
garrison.  We  had  clearly  only  intended  to 
pass  through  this  city,  taking  this  road  by 
Rocroy  to  Marienburg.  If  we  had  really 
wished  to  leave  France,  we  should  have  put 
ourselves  under  the  protection  of  the  gover- 
nor of  Couve,  who,  without  difficulty,  could 
4 


38  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

have  sent  us  through  the  bishopric  of  Liege 
to  Charleroi.” 

As  this  petition  was  founded  upon  false- 
hood, how  could  we  expect  a blessing  to 
accompany  it  ? and  it  was  the  merited  pun- 
ishment of  our  dishonesty  that  the  newly- 
awakened  light  of  hope  was  once  more  ex- 
tinguished. Two  days  afterwards,  we  were 
summoned  before  the  parliament.  The  presi- 
dent told  us  he  had  read  our  petition,  and  saw 
that  we  wished  to  prove  that  we  had  passed 
through  Couve.  “ But,”  continued  he,  “can 
you  also  prove  that,  at  the  time  you  were 
in  Couve,  you  knew  that  this  city  lay  be- 
yond the  frontier  of  France?”  We  had  not 
expected  to  be  asked  this  question  ; but  we 
answered  confidently,  against  our  consciences, 
that  we  were  perfectly  acquainted  with  the 
fact.  “How  could  you  know  it?”  he  return- 
ed. “ You  are  young,  and,  it  is  probable, 
have  never  before  been  away  from  your 
homes,  which  are  more  than  two  hundred 
miles  distant  from  Couve.”  I knew  not 
what  reply  to  make;  but  my  companion, 
Daniel  le  Gras,  assured  him  that  he  was  quite 
aware  of  it  before  his  departure  from  B — , 
adding  “ that  he  had  served  as  a surgeon  in 
one  of  the  regiments  from  Picardy;  that  at 
the  time  of  the  peace  of  Ryswick  he  was 
quartered  at  Rocroy;  from  thence  his  regi- 
ment removed  to  Strasburg ; and  that  it  was 
in  the  latter  city  that  he  himself  became  a 
convert  to  the  reformed  religion.  How  easy 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  39 

would  it  have  been  for  him,  at  that  time,  to 
have  escaped  from  France,  and  to  have  taken 
refuge  in  Holland  or  Germany!”  “If  you 
are  out  of  the  service,”  remarked  the  presi- 
dent, “ you  must  be  in  possession  of  a letter 
of  discharge.”  Happily,  Daniel  had  it  with 
him,  and  he  presented  it  to  the  president, 
who  caused  it  to  be  read  aloud.  The  clerk 
of  the  court  then  fastened  it  to  the  petition, 
and  we  were  sent  back  to  the  prison. 

Here  I must  observe  that  Daniel  le  Gras 
had  really  been  a surgeon  in  the  regiment  of 
Picardy,  and  after  the  peace  of  Ryswick,  had 
joined  the  Reformed  Church  of  Strasburg. 
But  he  had  never  been  at  Rocroy,  and  had 
merely  invented  this  part  of  his  story  in  his 
own  defence,  leaving  it  to  the  parliament  to 
find  out  whether  this  regiment  had  been 
quartered  at  Rocroy  or  not.  Thus  when  we 
are  tempted  to  leave  the  paths  of  uprightness, 
we  become  more  and  more  entangled  in  the 
snare,  like  a man  who,  falling  into  a miry  pit, 
sinks  deeper  and  deeper  in  spite  of  all  his 
efforts  to  get  out.  The  falsehood  was,  how- 
ever, not  detected  by  the  member  of  parlia- 
ment who  had  so  kindly  interested  himself 
on  our  behalf,  and  who  had  secured  many 
votes  in  our  favour;  indeed  most  of  the  depu- 
ties exerted  themselves  to  obtain  our  free- 
dom. Two  hours  after  our  return  to  prison, 
the  jailer  hastened  in  to  wish  us  joy  of  our 
approaching  deliverance  ; for  one  of  the  eccle- 
siastics had  told  him  that  he  had  himself  seen 
the  decree  which  declared  us  completely  in- 


40  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

nocent  of  the  charge  laid  against  us,  namely 
of  wishing  to  quit  the  kingdom.  All  our 
friends  in  the  town  visited  us,  and  made  us 
many  hearty  congratulations  on  our  good 
prospects;  and  we  ourselves  waited  with 
much  impatience  for  the  happy  moment  that 
was  to  set  us  at  liberty.  But,  alas,  how  soon 
were  all  our  fair  hopes  blasted  ! The  parlia- 
ment had  indeed  pronounced  us  innocent ; 
but,  as  we  were  looked  upon  as  prisoners  of 
state,  we  could  not  be  dismissed  without  the 
permission  of  the  court.  The  attorney-gene- 
ral wrote  word,  therefore,  to  the  minister,  M 
de  la  Brilliere,  that  we  had  satisfactorily 
proved  our  innocence,  and  that  the  parlia- 
ment awaited  his  orders.  The  minister  re- 
plied that  they  ought  to  examine  the  case 
more  fully  to  ensure  there  being  no  decep- 
tion. Not  choosing  to  contradict  their  former 
statement,  the  parliament  replied  that  the 
proofs  were  sufficient  and  incontestable.  A 
fortnight  passed  ere  any  further  communica- 
tion was  received  from  court.  At  length  the 
expected  letter  arrived,  and  we  were  no 
longer  in  suspense  as  to  our  future  fate.  We 
were  once  more  summoned  before  the  parlia- 
ment, and  asked  by  the  president  whether 
we  could  read ; and  upon  our  answering  in 
the  affirmative,  “ Then  read  this  letter,”  he 
replied,  “ which  we  have  received  from  the 
marquis  de  la  Brilliere.”  It  was  as  follows  : — 

“ Gentlemen, 

“ John  Mantel  and  Daniel  le  Gras  have 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  41 

confessed  that  they  passed  the  frontier  with- 
out a passport;  they  are,  therefore,  sentenced 
to  the  galleys  by  the  express  command  of 
the  king. 

I am  gentlemen,  etc.  etc., 

“Marquis  de  la  Brilliere.” 

“ You  see,”  added  the  president,  “ that  this 
sentence  proceeds  not  from  us,  but  from  the 
court.  We  are  innocent  of  it,  and  pity  you 
most  sincerely.  We  commend  you  to  the 
mercy  of  God  and  the  king.” 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  THIRD  CAPTIVITY. 

While  the  traveller,  at  every  stage  of  his 
journey,  meets  with  an  inn,  which  offers  him 
refreshments  and  repose,  we,  during  our 
wearisome  and  tedious  march,  found  no  lodg- 
ing better  than  a gloomy  prison,  and  each 
dungeon  we  visited  appeared  more  loathsome 
than  the  last. 

Three  days  after  we  had  received  our  final 
sentence  we  were  sent  on  foot  to  Lisle,  a 
distance  of  five  miles,  under  the  custody  of 
four  constables,  and,  encumbered  as  we  were 
with  chains,  we  arrived  in  the  evening,  al- 
most exhausted  with  fatigue.  We  were  con- 
ducted to  Peter’s  tower,  set  apart,  on  account 
of  its  great  strength,  for  the  reception  of  the 
worst  criminals.  The  jailer  examined  us 
closely,  and  two  Jesuits,  who  were  present, 
4* 


42  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

took  away  our  books,  which  were  never  re- 
stored to  us.  The  prison  at  Lisle  is  large  and 
spacious,  but.  not  a ray  of  light  enters  to  cheer 
its  unhappy  inmates,  so  that,  they  are  only 
conscious  of  returning  day  from  the  visits  of 
their  jailer,  who,  every  morning,  brings  in 
their  scanty  supply  of  bread  and  water ; their 
only  bed  consists  of  a little  straw,  half  eaten 
by  the  rats  and  mice,  who  attack  also  the 
food,  and  devour  it  with  impunity,  the  light 
not  being  sufficient  to  allow  them  to  be  seen 
by  the  prisoners,  who  thus  are  unable  to 
chase  them  away.  In  this  dreadful  abode 
were  we  placed;  our  companions  thirty  profli- 
gates, who  were  condemned  to  suffer  the  just 
punishment  of  their  crimes.  I could  not  dis- 
tinguish any  of  them,  but  I heard  their 
names  called  over  by  the  jailer.  A few  days 
after  our  arrival  at  Lisle,  the  jailer  offered 
myself  and  my  companion  a room,  where 
we  could  be  provided  with  a good  bed  and 
every  other  convenience,  on  condition  that 
we  should  pay  him  two  louis  d’ors  a month. 
We  had  very  little  money  left,  yet  I offered 
him  a louis  d’or  and  a half  if  he  would  agree 
to  board  us  till  we  were  sent  to  the  galleys  : 
this  he  refused,  but  he  found  reason  after- 
wards to  repent  his  decision.  About  nine 
o’clock  one  morning,  we  heard  our  prison 
door  open,  and  ourselves  called  by  name.  I 
thought  our  jailer  had  changed  his  mind 
and  intended  to  remove  us  to  a better  room, 
but  we  were  as  happily  astonished  as  a fisher- 
man when  he  thinks  he  has  caught  a ground- 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  43 

ling,  and  finds  a carp  in  his  net ; for  our  jailer 
informed  us  that  baron  von  Lamberti,  chief 
justice  of  Flanders  and  governor  of  Lisle, 
wished  to  speak  to  us.  We  followed  to  an 
apartment,  where  we  found  the  baron,  who 
received  us  with  kindness.  He  held  in  his 
hand  a letter  from  his  brother,  a worthy  Pro- 
testant nobleman,  who  lived  only  three  miles 
from  15 — , my  native  place,  and  who,  at  my 
father’s  request,  had  written  to  recommend 
us  to  the  protection  of  the  baron.  “ I am 
sincerely  grieved,”  said  he  to  me,  “ that  it  is 
not  in  my  power  to  procure  your  pardon.  In 
behalf  of  any  other  criminal,  I have  sufficient 
influence  at  court  to  obtain  my  request ; but 
no  one  will  venture  to  speak  in  favour  of  a 
Protestant.  All  that  I can  do  therefore,  is  to 
alleviate,  in  some  degree,  your  sufferings, 
and  to  keep  you  here  as  long  as  I please, 
even  though  the  rest  of  the  convicts  must 
shortly  be  sent  to  the  galleys.  Turning  to 
the  jailer,  he  asked  whether  there  was  a good 
room  vacant ; two  or  three  were  mentioned, 
but  not  thinking  any  sufficiently  comfortable, 
he  continued,  “ Well,  then,  it  is  my  desire 
that  you  should  at  once  remove  them  to  the 
almonry,  and  see  that  they  are  allowed  every- 
thing which  can  contribute  to  their  comfort, 
and  help  them  to  recover  their  strength.” 
*£  Sir,”  interrupted  the  jailer,  “ that  room  is 
set  apart  for  those  prisoners  who  are  allowed 
certain  privileges  not  permitted  to  the  others.” 
“ Well  then,”  answered  the  baron,  “ let  these 
gentlemen  be  admitted  to  a share  in  those 


44  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEV-SLAVES. 

privileges.  It  is  the  duty  of  you  and  your 
assistants  to  see  that  they  "do  not*escape  ; and 
I repeat,  that  they  are  to  be  allowed  every 
convenience,  but  do  not  take  any  money 
from  them;  I wish  all  their  expenses  to  be 
put  down  to  my  account.  You  will  find,” 
lie  added,  addressing  me,  “this  apartment 
more  commodious  than  any  in  the  prison.” 
He  also  desired  the  jailer  to  make  me  super- 
intendent of  the  room  and  distributor  of  the 
alms.  We  thanked  him  sincerely  for  his 
kindness;  and,  having  promised  often  to  in- 
quire after  our  welfare,  he  dismissed  us. 

The  room  in  which  we  were  now  placed 
was  large  and  comfortable  : it  contained  six 
beds,  and  was  occupied  by  twelve  prisoners, 
including  ourselves.  They  were  often  per- 
sons of  high  rank,  and  never  belonging  to  the 
lower  classes.  A few  young  boys,  imprison- 
ed for  small  frauds  or  other  petty  delinquen- 
cies, were  employed  to  make  our  beds,  sweep 
the  room,  cook  our  dinners,  and  do  other 
menial  offices : they  slept  on  some  straw  at 
one  end  of  the  apartment.  The  office  I was 
appointed  to  fill  was  a very  laborious  one, 
namely,  to  distribute  all  the  alms  given  to 
the  prisoners;  they  amounted  generally  to  a 
considerable  sum,  which  was  brought  daily 
to  me  to  be  divided.  The  poor-box  hung 
from  one  of  the  windows  of  the  building,  in 
order  that  the  passers-by  might  be  induced 
to  contribute.  This  box,  of  which  I kept  the 
key,  was  opened  every  evening,  and  the  dis- 
tribution made  among  those  in  my  apartment, 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  45 


if  they  stood  in  need  of  such  assistance,  as 
also  among  the  other  criminals.  The  jailer 
always  gave  me  a list  of  their  names:  during 
the  time  I was  at  Lisle,  their  number  amount- 
ed to  between  live  and  six  hundred. 

With  all  my  exertions,  I could  not  check 
one  abuse,  which  had  become  too  deeply 
rooted  to  be  easily  removed.  It  was  this : 
the  jailer,  who  daily  received  a certain  sum 
from  the  poor-box  to  purchase  food  for  the 
other  prisoners,  instead  of  spending  it  all  for 
this  purpose,  generally  furnished  them  with 
an  ill-cooked  mess  of  meat  boiled  with  a 
little  salt,  the  very  smell  of  which  was  quite 
sufficient  to  make  one  ill;  thus  the  poor  peo- 
ple were  deprived  of  the  greatest  part  of 
those  gifts  bestowed  for  their  relief.  After 
we  had  spent  six  weeks  in  this  apartment, 
the  baron  von  Lamberti  brought  us  informa- 
tion that  the  next  day  was  fixed  for  the  de- 
parture of  the  convicts  to  Dunkirk;  “at 
which  place,”  continued  he,  “ there  are  at 
present  stationed  six  royal  galleys.  I will, 
however,  exempt  you  from  accompanying 
them  by  representing  you  as  ill,  and  not  able 
to  walk.  You  must  tal^e  to  your  beds,  and 
remain  there  till  the  party  has  set  out.”  We 
did  so,  and  found  it  much  to  our  advantage 
that  we  were  permitted  to  remain  three 
months  longer  in  the  prison  at  Lisle. 


46  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  GALLEYS  AT  DUNKIRK. 

In  January,  1702,  we  received  another  visit 
from  the  chief  justice,  who  told  us  that  a 
party  of  criminals  was  to  set  off  the  next 
morning  for  Dunkirk,  that  he  left  us  at  liber- 
ty to  accompany  them,  or  to  remain  longer 
in  our  present  abode ; but  he  added,  that  this 
would  be  the  last  opportunity  we  should  have 
of  going  to  Dunkirk,  as  the  next  convoy  would 
be  to  Marseilles,  distant  more  than  three 
hundred  miles  from  Lisle,  a journey  which 
would  be  both  difficult  and  painful  for  us  to 
perform,  travelling  as  we  should  be  obliged 
to  do  on  foot,  and  encumbered  by  heavy 
chains.  Besides,  he  himself  intended  leaving 
Lisle  in  March,  so  that  he  could  no  longer 
be  of  any  assistance  to  us.  “ I strongly  ad- 
vise you,  therefore,”  said  he,  “ to  set  off  to- 
morrow for  Dunkirk  with  the  other  convicts. 
It  is  only  twelve  miles  from  this  place ; the 
party  will  be  under  my  command  till  they 
reach  that  city,  and  I will  permit  you  to 
travel  in  a wagon,,  in  order  that  you  may 
have  as  comfortable  a journey  as  possible.” 
We  gratefully  accepted  his  proposal,  and  the 
next  morning,  according  to  his  promise,  he 
sent  a wagon,  which  conveyed  us  to  Dun- 
kirk, while  the  other  prisoners,  thirty  in  num- 
ber, were  chained  together,  and  compelled  to 
make  the  journey  on  foot.  In  the  evening, 
after  our  day’s  march,  the  head  constable  in- 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  47 

vited  us  to  supper,  and  we  were  provided 
with  a comfortable  lodging  for  the  night,  so 
that  the  people  of  Ypres,  Furnes,  and  other 
towns  through  which  we  passed,  imagined  us 
to  be  persons  of  high  rank;  but, alas,  all  this 
consideration  was  like  the  smoke  which  soon 
vanishes  away. 

On  the  third  day  after  our  departure  from 
Lisle,  we  arrived  at  Dunkirk,  and  were 
divided  among  the  different  galleys  at  that 
time  stationed  there.  A common  sized  galley 
is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  and 
forty  feet  wide ; it  has  fifty  benches  of  oars, 
twenty-five  on  each  side;  these  benches  are 
ten  feet  long,  and  are  four  feet  distant  from 
each  other.  On  each  bench  sit  five  rowers, 
and  their  work,  particularly  if  they'  are  made 
to  row  long  at  a time,  is  exceedingly  difficult 
and  fatiguing.  The  galley  to  which  we 
were  sent  previously  to  our  being  assigned 
to  our  particular  masters,  was  fastened  to 
another  which  bore  the  name  of  the  Palm- 
tree,  and  the  master  of  this  galley  was  more 
like  a demon  than  a human  creature  in  his 
conduct.  In  general,  the  galleys  were  clean- 
ed only  once  a-week,  but  he  chose  to  have 
his  cleaned  every  day,  whilst  he  stood  by, 
loading  the  unhappy  slaves  with  the  most 
terrible  menaces,  and  often  striking  them 
fearfully.  My  fellow-rowers  often  said  to 
me,  “ Pray  God  that,  in  the  division  about  to 
take  place,  you  may  not  be  appointed  to  the 
Palm-tree.”  When  the  day  came,  we  drew 
lots  for  the  places  we  were  to  occupy;  and 


48  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

the  master  to  whom  my  lot  assigned  me  de- 
sired me  to  follow  him.  I obeyed,  and,  not 
knowing  he  was  to  be  my  future  master, 
ventured  to  ask  to  what  galley  I was  appoint- 
ed. He  answered,  “ To  the  Palm-tree 
upon  hearing  which,  I broke  out  into  loud 
lamentations.  “ Why,”  asked  my  conductor, 
“do  you  think  yourself  more  unfortunate 
than  your  companions?”  “Ah,  sir!”  I re- 
plied, “ because  I am  condemned  to  a galley, 
which  is  said  to  resemble  the  place  of  torment 
itself,  and  the  master  of  which  is  more  wicked 
than  the  evil  spirit.”  Little  did  I know 
whom  I was  addressing  : he  looked  at  me 
with  a stern  and  gloomy  expression  of  coun- 
tenance. “ If,”  said  he,  “ I knew  who  had 
told  you  this,  and  had  them  in  my  power,  I 
would  make  them  soon  repent  it.” 

The  jailer  had  fastened  round  my  waist 
an  iron  ring  to  which  was  attached  an  un- 
usually heavy  chain  : he  had  done  this,  think- 
ing it  was  necessary  to  secure  me  fast  on 
account  of  my  youth  and  activity.  My  mas- 
ter, perhaps  in  order  to  prove  to  me  that  he 
was  not  so  cruel  as  he  had  been  represented, 
had  my  chain  exchanged  for  a lighter  one, 
which  he  chose  himself : indeed  I have  to 
thank  him  for  many  indulgences  during  the 
period  I remained  under  his  command.  It 
is  true  that  he  exercised  some  severity  in  per- 
forming the  duties  of  his  office ; but,  when 
not  engaged  in  his  business,  his  conduct 
was  respectable,  and  his  manners  courteous. 
There  were  five  Protestants  in  his  galley, 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  49 


who  never  experienced  ill  treatment  at  his 
hands;  on  the  contrary,  he  took  every  oppor- 
tunity of  showing  them  kindness. 

An  expedition  against  the  English  and 
Dutch  ships  was  undertaken  every  year,  by 
these  six  galleys,  manned  by  three  hundred 
men.  The  prisoners,  continually  employed 
at  the  oars,  were  often,  on  these  occasions,  in 
great  peril  of  their  lives.  I shall  only  men- 
tion an  instance,  which  occurred  in  1707. 
One  fine  morning  that  we  were  in  the  har- 
bour at  Dunkirk,  the  commander  of  the  gal- 
leys, M.  de  Langeron,  assembled  the  pilots 
of  the  different  vessels,  to  a consultation  upon 
the  state  of  the  weather — “Was  there  any 
reason  to  expect  a change  ?”  They  de- 
clared with  one  voice,  that  the  east  wind  pro- 
mised a continuance  of  the  fine  season.  We 
were  obliged  to  be  sure  of  a calm  sea  before 
we  ventured  out,  for  the  galleys  were  not 
constructed  in  such  a manner  as  to  enable 
them  to  weather  the  storm.  The  pilot  of  our 
galley  had  not  expressed  his  opinion  ; his 
name  was  Peter  Bart,  a fisherman  of  Dun- 
kirk, and  well  acquainted  with  the  coast.  He 
was  a natural  brother  of  the  celebrated  north- 
ern admiral  John  Bart,  but  a notorious  drunk- 
ard ; nevertheless,  he  was  a very  experienced 
seaman,  and  an  attentive  observer  of  the 
changes  of  the  weather.  He  was,  however, 
in  little  credit  with  his  fellow  steersmen,  on 
account  of  his  drunken  habits,  for  he  was 
generally  in  a state  of  intoxication ; his  lan- 
guage was  coarse  and  familiar.  The  com- 
5 


50  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEV-SLAVES. 


mander  turning  to  him,  asked  what  he  thought 
of  the  weather.  “Wilt  thou  go  to  sea?”  he 
replied;  “I  promise  thee  it  will  be  boiled 
enough  by  to-morrow  morning.”  They  only 
laughed  at  him ; and  though  he  earnestly 
begged  to  be  left  on  shore,  the  commander 
would  not  grant  his  request.  Our  galleys, 
together  with  those  under  the  command  of 
M.  de  Fontete,  put  to  sea : the  water  was  so 
unruffled,  and  the  day  so  calm,  that  a lighted 
candle  might  have  been  placed  at  the  mast 
head.  The  next  morning,  we  came  to  the 
roads  of  Ambleteuse,  a little  village  lying  be- 
tween Calais  and  Boulogne  ; beyqnd  this  was 
a bay,  sheltered  from  the  east,  and  north-east 
winds,  by  a mountain  on  each  side  of  it.  I 
know  not  what  induced  our  commander  to 
anchor  in  the  bay.  M.  de  Fontete  was  much 
more  prudent,  for  he  remained  in  the  roads. 
When  Peter  Bart  saw  us  prepare  to  cast  an- 
chor, he  called  out  in  a tone  of  despair,  that 
we  must  not  run  into  the  bay ; and  on  our 
asking  the  reason,  added,  that  at  daybreak 
next  morning,  a terrible  storm  would  arise 
from  the  south-west,  and  that  we  should  not 
be  able  to  leave  the  bay,  the  entrance  being 
exactly  open  to  the  wind  from  that  quarter, 
but  that  our  galleys  would  be  driven  upon 
the  rocks,  and  so  split  to  pieces,  that  all  on 
board  must  perish.  His  words  were  disre- 
garded, and,  the  anchors  being  cast  a little 
before  day,  we  lay  down  to  obtain  a short 
interval  of  repose.  Peter  Bart  continuing  to 
groan  and  weep,  like  one  who  expects  inevi- 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  51 


table  death.  At  length  daylight  appeared ; 
the  wind  blew  from  the  south-west,  but  so 
gently  that  no  notice  was  taken  of  it;  but 
scarcely  had  the  morning  rays  gilded  the  ho- 
rizon, when  its  increased  violence  drew  the 
attention  of  the  most  incredulous,  to  the  oft- 
repeated  warnings  of  the  pilot.  We  received 
orders  to  quit  the  bay ; but  before  we  could 
accomplish  our  purpose,  the  tempest  raged 
with  such  fury,  that  instead  of  weighing  an- 
chor, we  were  obliged  to  throw  out  two  more, 
in  order  to  stand  against  the  violence  of  the 
winds  and  waves ; while  every  moment  the 
foaming  deep  discovered  to  us  new  rocks, 
which  threatened  our  vessels  with  destruc- 
tion : and,  what  made  the  danger  more  immi- 
nent was,  that  the  anchors  we  had  cast  from 
the  fore  part  of  the  galley  would  not  fix,  so 
that  we  were  driven  against  the  rocks.  We 
attempted  to  row  toward  the  anchors,  but  the 
moment  we  let  down  our  oars,  they  were 
carried  away  by  the  violence  of  the  waves. 
The  alarm  now  became  so  general,  that  noth- 
ing was  to  be  heard  but  loud  lamentations, 
and  cries  for  deliverance.  The  priest  on 
board  administered  the  holy  sacrament,  and 
gave  absolution  to  those  who  declared  them- 
selves truly  penitent  for  their  past  sins,  there 
being  neither  time  nor  opportunity  for  con- 
fession. The  slaves  who  were  condemned 
for  their  crimes  to  labour  at  the  oars,  far  from 
showing  any  signs  of  contrition,  called  out 
loudly  to  their  commander  and  officers,  <£  A 
little  patience,  gentlemen ! we  shall  soon 


52  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

be  together  as  equals,  and  drink  from  the  same 
glass so  true  is  it  that  the  impenitent  heart 
will  not  always  be  softened,  even  by  the  view 
of  approaching  death.  In  this  emergency, 
when  destruction  appeared  inevitable,  our 
commander  perceived  Peter  Bart,  who  was 
standing  apart  from  the  rest,  and  looked  much 
cast  down;  “Ah,  Peter!”  said  he  to  him: 
“ had  I believed  you,  we  should  not  now  be 
in  danger;  but  do  you  know  any  means 
whereby  we  may  escape?”  “What  use  is 
there,”  answered  Peter,  “in  my  giving  you 
advice,  since  you  do  not  listen  to  a word  I 
say.  Yes ; I do  know  a way,  by  which,  with 
God’s  assistance,  we  may  be  saved  from  ship- 
wreck ; but  I fairly  tell  you,  that  were  it  not 
that  I love  my  own  life  too  well,  you  might 
drown  like  so  many  pigs  for  all  the  help  I 
would  give  you.”  His  rudeness  passed  un- 
noticed, since  he  had  kindled  a ray  of  hope 
in  every  bosom  ; and  Peter  went  on  : “ I fur- 
ther declare,  that  if  I undertake  the  business, 
I will  not  be  opposed  in  any  of  my  arrange- 
ments, which  may  at  first  sight  appear  use- 
less, and  even  ridiculous : they  must  be  obey- 
ed, or  we  shall  all  perish.”  The  commander 
instantly  desired  that  implicitobedience  should 
be  paid  to  Peter’s  orders,  under  pain  of  death. 
The  pilot  then  demanded  the  commander’s 
purse.  “Here  it  is,”  said  the  latter ; “do  what 
you  please  with  it.”  When  Peter  had  taken 
four  louis  d’ors  out  of  the  purse,  he  returned 
it  to  its  owner,  and  then  asked,  whether  there 
were  four  men  present,  who  would  under- 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  53 


take  a dangerous  service,  promising  the  re- 
ward of  a louis  d’or  to  each,  if  they  succeeded. 
Twenty  men  instantly  came  forward,  of 
whom,  however,  he  selected  only  four,  noted 
for  their  courage.  These  he  placed  in  the 
boat  belonging  to  the  galley,  and  giving  them 
an  anchor,  the  rope  of  which  was  fastened  to 
the  vessel,  he  desired  them  to  cast  it  at  the 
hinder  part.  We  all  wondered  at  this  plan, 
for  we  could  not  imagine  of  what  use  the  an- 
chor could  be  at  the  hinder  part  of  the  galley, 
since  it  was  the  fore  part  we  wished  to  be 
secured.  The  commander  himself  was  an- 
xious to  know  what  this  anchor  was  expect- 
ed to  effect ; but  Peter  only  answered  him 
with,  “ You  will  see  time  enough,  if  it  please 
God.”  After  great  pains  and  much  risk,  the 
mariners  were  at  length  successful  in  their 
enterprise,  and  fixed  the  anchor  on  the  rock. 
When  Peter  saw  this  accomplished,  he  seized 
the  commander’s  hand, exclaiming,  “Praised 
be  God,  we  are  safe  !” 

However,  none  of  us  could  guess  what 
plan  he  had  in  view.  Peter  now  lowered 
the  yard,  fastened  the  sail-cloth  to  it,  rolled  it 
up,  and  wound  it  round  with  reeds,  which, 
when  the  ropes  were  cut,  would,  of  course, 
break  and  leave  the  sail  to  spread  itself  at 
liberty.  He  then  had  the  sail  raised  again, 
and  desired  four  sailors  to  be  ready  to  cut  the 
cables  the  moment  he  should  give  the  word 
of  command.  The  rope  attached  to  the  an- 
chor at  the  stern  of  the  vessel  was  tightened, 
and  a sailor  stationed  with  an  axe  to  cut  it 
5* 


54  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SI.AVES. 

when  the  order  should  be  given.  After  all 
these  preparations,  he  commanded  the  men 
at  the  fore  part  to  cut  the  ropes  of  the  an- 
chors. As  soon  as  this  part  of  the  galley 
was  free,  it  turned  round  ; Peter’s  skill  allow- 
ed it,  however,  only  to  turn  so  far  as  neces- 
sary, m order  to  get  wind  for  the  sail.  As 
soon  as  it  was  raised,  the  rushes  were  torn  in 
pieces,  the  sail  spread  filled  with  wind ; at 
the  same  time  the  anchor  at  the  stern  was 
loosened,  Peter  seized  the  helm,  and  ran  the 
galley  with  the  utmost  rapidity  out  of  the 
unlucky  bay.  His  skill  had  thus  rescued  us 
from  imminent  danger,  and  we  found  our- 
selves once  more  on  the  open  sea. 

We  now  sailed  for  Dunkirk,  and  soon  en- 
tered the  roads.  Here  we  cast  two  anchors, 
lent  us  by  M.  de  Fontete,  being  obliged  to 
wait  six  hours  for  the  tide.  During  this  in- 
terval, we  appeared  hovering  between  life 
and  death.  The  waves,  mountain  high, 
rolled  over  the  vessel,  covering  us  with  spray; 
and  had  not  the  doors  and  other  openings  of 
the  deck  been  carefully  secured,  the  hold 
would  have  been  under  water,  and  the  galley 
must  have  sunk.  The  inhabitants  of  the  city, 
who  saw  our  danger  from  the  shore,  joined 
in  prayer  for  our  deliverance ; and  public 
masses  were  offered  for  us  in  all  the  churches 
of  Dunkirk.  This  was  the  only  assistance 
they  could  offer  us  in  our  desperate  condition. 
At  length,  the  returning  tide  permitted  us  to 
make  a final  effort  for  our  preservation  in  en- 
deavouring to  enter  the  harbour ; but  this  at- 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  55 


tempt  was  also  accompanied  by  great  danger, 
because  the  vessel  must  necessarily  turn  short 
round  between  two  points  of  the  dyke 
which  inclose  the  harbour,  and  the  length  of 
the  ship  woidd  render  this  particularly  diffi- 
cult ; and,  besides,  the  front  of  the  dyke  was 
so  swollen  by  the  violence  of  the  sea,  that  it 
was  only  at  intervals,  when  the  waves  divid- 
ed for  a moment,  that  we  could  clearly  dis- 
tinguish the  entrance.  What  was  to  be  done  ? 
We  called  Peter  Bart,  who  was  quietly  asleep 
on  a bench,  regardless  of  the  waves,  which 
rolled  continually  over  his  head.  The  com- 
mander asked  him  whether  he  thought  it  pos- 
sible to  enter  the  harbour.  “Certainly,”  re- 
plied he;  “ I will  take  you  in  with  full  sails.” 
“What!”  returned  the  commander,  “with 
full  sails ; then  we  must  all  be  lost.”  “ Fear 
nothing,”  said  Peter : “ all  will  yet  be  well.” 
We  were  by  this  time  more  dead  than  alive, 
shivering  with  cold  and  wet ; for  we  were  up 
to  our  knees  in  water,  and  almost  famished 
with  hunger : we  had  not  tasted  food  for 
nearly  three  days,  not  venturing  to  open  the 
door  of  the  store-room,  lest  we  should  let 
in  the  water  and  sink  the  vessel ; and  now 
we  were  in  apprehension  of  being  dashed  in 
pieces  against  the  entrance  of  the  dyke.  But 
Peter  laughed  at  what  he  called  womanish 
fears,  adding,  however,  that  he  could  not  in- 
sure the  prow  from  being  broken ; for  the 
wind  was  so  strong  that  it  would  not  be  pos- 
sible to  prevent  the  galley  from  running 
against  the  fish  market,  which  joined  the  har- 


56  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

boar.  The  cables  were  cut,  and  our  pilot 
guided  the  helm  with  such  skill,  that  he  turn- 
ed round  into  the  entrance  of  the  dyke  with- 
out injury  to  the  vessel ; and  then  spreading 
sail,  it  ran,  as  he  had  foretold,  against  the 
fish  market  with  such  rapidity,  that  two  or 
three  hundred  sailors,  who  had  been  sent  to 
our  assistance,  and  who  stood  upon  the  dyke, 
could  not  hold  us  in  with  their  ropes,  which 
broke  like  thread  from  the  violence  of  the 
wind. 

This  disastrous  voyage  thus  happily  ended, 
our  commander  much  wished  to  retain  Peter 
Bart  in  his  vessel,  promising  him  double 
wages  if  he  would  continue  in  his  service. 
But  nothing  could  induce  the  pilot  to  remain. 
“I  should  be  a fool  to  stay  with  you,”  said 
he,  “ were  you  to  pay  me  a thousand  livres 
a month.”  And  with  that  he  took  his  leave. 

On  another  occasion,  in  September,  1708, 
our  vessels  engaged  in  combat  with  an  Eng- 
lish frigate,  and  I received  three  wounds, 
which,  for  three  days  were  without  surgical 
care.  In  this  miserable  condition,  I returned 
to  Dunkirk,  where,  with  the  rest  of  the 
wounded,  I was  conveyed  to  the  hospital. 
Here  the  slaves  were  separated  from  the  other 
mariners,  and  placed  in  two  large  rooms,  each 
containing  forty  beds.  About  one  o’clock  in 
the  afternoon,  the  head  naval  surgeon,  accom- 
panied by  all  the  surgeons  belonging  to  the 
ships  and  galleys  which  were  at  that  time  in 
the  harbour,  came  to  dress  our  wounds.  I 
was  particularly  recommended  to  his  care, 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  57 

and  how  that  happened,  I must  go  back  a lit- 
tle in  my  history  to  explain. 

Ever  since  my  arrival  in  the  galleys,  in  the 
year  1702,  I had,  by  the  exertions  of  my  re- 
lations, been  recommended  to  the  protection 
of  a rich  banker,  who  had  a house  at  Dun- 
kirk, where  he  lived  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  year.  M.  P — had  received  letters  on 
the  subject  from  Bordeaux,  Bergerac,  and 
Amsterdam;  and  being  himself  a native  of 
B — , and  in  heart  a Protestant,  (though  he 
externally  conformed  to  the  rites  of  the  Ro- 
mish church,)  and  further,  having  received 
letters  in  my  favour  from  persons  whose 
friendship  he  valued,  he  thought  it  worth 
while  to  take  some  trouble  to  show  me  kind- 
ness, and,  indeed,  if  possible  to  procure  my 
freedom.  He  spoke  in  my  behalf  to  M.  de 
Langeron,  with  whom  he  was  intimately  ac- 
quainted ; and  by  his  intercession  I was  al- 
lowed many  indulgences.  Wishing  still  fur- 
ther to  serve  me,  he  obtained  permission,  one 
day,  from  M.  de  Langeron  to  take  me  home 
with  him  on  the  following  morning.  It  was 
soon  after  my  arrival  at  Dunkirk,  on  Christ- 
mas day,  and  during  the  hour  of  Divine  ser- 
vice, while  his  wife  was  at  church,  that,  with 
the  consent  of  our  commander,  I accompanied 
M.  P—  to  his  house.  He  took  me  into  his 
study,  and,  having  first  assured  me  how  an- 
xious he  was  to  show  me  all  the  kindness  in 
his  power,  he  added  that  he  had  contrived  a 
means  of  procuring  my  freedom,  if  I would 
consent  to  his  plan.  I thanked  him  for  his 


5S  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

kindness,  and  said  I would  willingly  do  what 
he  desired  if  it  were  not  against  my  conscience. 
“ Conscience,”  he  returned,  “ must  indeed 
have  a share  in  the  business,  but  so  small, 
that  you  need  feel  no  compunction ; and  even 
if  you  disapprove  the  proceeding,  you  may 
give  it  up  when  you  get  to  Holland.  Now 
observe,”  continued  he,  “ I am  a Protestant, 
like  yourself;  but  my  circumstances  demand 
that  I should  represent  myself  to  be  a Catho- 
lic ; nor  can  I believe  this  to  be  a sin,  if  I do 
not  in  heart  turn  away  from  the  true  faith. 
This,  then,  is  to  be  the  means  whereby  I hope 
to  maintain  your  liberty  : M.  de  Ponchartrain, 
minister  of  marine,  is  my  friend,  and  will  not 
refuse  any  request  I make  to  him.  If  you 
will  agree  to  subscribe  a paper  containing  a 
promise  that,  if  you  are  set  at  liberty,  you 
will  live  and  die  a good  Catholic,  even  should 
you  eventually  settle  out  of  France,  I will 
engage,  on  my  part,  that,  without  being  com- 
pelled to  make  a public  abjuration,  or  taking 
any  steps  which  might  excite  the  suspicion 
of  your  brethren,  you  shall  be  free  before  a 
fortnight  has  elapsed;  and  further,  I pledge 
myself  to  get  you  to  Holland  without  your 
incurring  the  smallest  danger.”  “ Sir,”  I re- 
plied, “I  have  been  greatly  deceived  in  sup- 
posing you  to  be  a Protestant,  nor  can  I ex- 
press the  indignation  I feel  at  your  proposal. 
You  must  pardon  me  if  I say  that,  whatever 
you  may  call  yourself,  you  are  not  worthy 
of  the  name  of  Protestant.  What,  sir!  do 
you  suppose  the  Almighty  to  be  unmindful 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  59 


of  your  conduct  ? And  do  you  not  feel  that 
the  promise  you  make  me,  and  which  is  to  be 
concealed  from  men,  even  could  it  be  annulled 
by  an  earthly  judge,  would  only  so  much  the 
more  offend  against  his  Divine  Majesty  ? Sir, 
be  not  deceived : your  own  conscience  must 
condemn  you  ; for  you  know  assuredly  that 
if  our  outward  behaviour  agree  not  with  the 
conviction  of  our  hearts,  this  conviction  will 
only  add  to  our  sin.”  He  tried  to  overcome 
my  scruples,  alleging  that  the  gospel  did  not 
require  so  much  strictness.  But  I resisted 
his  arguments  as  contrary  to  my  conscience, 
adding  that  those  who  had  recommended  me 
to  his  favour  would,  by  no  means,  wish  me 
to  purchase  freedom  by  any  departure  from 
the  Protestant  faith.  “ No,  indeed,”  answer- 
ed he,  “ nor  can  I wish  to  press  you  any  fur- 
ther upon  the  subject.”  He  then  embraced 
me  with  tearful  eyes,  and  prayed  God  to  pre- 
serve me  in  a determination  so  worthy  of  a 
professor  of  the  true  religion  of  Christ.  “ From 
henceforth,”  he  continued,  “ I shall  love  you, 
not  only  on  account  of  the  many  letters  of 
recommendation  I have  received  in  your  be- 
half, but  also  from  my  own  observation  of 
your  worth ; and  you  may  be  well  assured 
that  I shall  take  every  opportunity  of  serving 
you.”  From  this  time  M.  P — often  visited 
me  at  the  galleys,  and  on  all  occasions  show- 
ed me  uniform  kindness.  As  soon  as  he  had 
heard  that  our  galley  had  been  engaged  with 
the  English  frigate,  and  had,  on  the  17th  of 
September,  170S,  lost  many  of  her  crew,  he 


60  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

ran  directly  down  to  the  harbour  to  make  in- 
quiries after  me ; and  being  told  that  I had 
been  wounded,  and  was  already  taken  to  the 
hospital,  he  immediately  went  to  the  head 
surgeon,  with  whom  he  was  acquainted,  and 
commended  me  as  earnestly  to  his  attention 
as  if  I had  been  his  son.  I must  add  that, 
under  God,  I owe  to  this  surgeon  the  preser- 
vation of  my  life,  and  I must  always  feel  the 
sincerest  gratitude  to  him.  The  third  part 
of  the  wounded  men  died  in  the  hospital;  of 
these  many  were  not  nearly  so  severely  hurt 
as  myself.  My  wounds  were  cured  in  less 
than  two  months ; but  I remained  another 
month  in  the  hospital  to  recruit  my  strength. 
They  took  as  much  care  of  me  as  if  I had 
been  a prince  ; and  in  three  months,  1 was  as 
strong  and  as  fat  as  a monk.  But  on  account 
of  the  lameness  which  had  settled  in  my  arm, 
I was  removed  from  the  oars,  where  I had 
laboured  for  seven  years,  and  appointed  to 
the  store  room.  Soon  afterwards,  I obtained 
the  office  of  clerk  to  the  commander,  and  my 
situation  became  wonderfully  improved.  In- 
deed, I now  wanted  nothing  but  freedom ; I 
was  no  longer  encumbered  by  a chain,  either 
day  or  night,  and  wore  only  a ring  round  my 
foot.  I was  allowed  to  sleep  in  a comforta- 
ble bed,  while  the  rest  of  my  companions 
laboured  at  the  oars.  Thus  I remained  till 
the  year  1712. 


♦he  huguenot  galley-slaves.  61 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  JOURNEY  TO  MARSEILLES. 

In  the  year  1712,  the  court  of  France  having 
agreed  to  give  up  the  city  of  Dunkirk,  with 
its  fortifications  and  harbour,  to  the  English 
government,  the  slaves  in  the  galleys,  at  that 
time  stationed  there,  were  transferred  to  Mar- 
seilles. We  began  our  journey  on  the  1st  of 
October,  and  went  by  Havre  de  Grace  to 
Paris.  We  had  been  at  Havre  for  a fortnight, 
when,  one  evening,  as  we  were  eating  our 
scanty  meal,  about  nine  o’clock,  and  our 
guards  were  also  gone  to  supper,  I felt  some 
one  touch  me  on  the  shoulder,  and  turning 
round,  I saw  a young  lady,  the  daughter  of 
the  principal  banker  in  the  city.  She  held  in 
her  hand  a volume  of  sermons  which  I had 
lent  her  a few  days  before : these  she  return- 
ed, saying  hastily,  -£  Here  is  your  book.  May 
God  be  with  you  in  all  your  troubles.  To 
night  at  twelve  o’clock  you  will  leave  this 
place.  Four  wagons  are  ordered  to  convey 
you  away,  and  the  white  gate  will  be  left 
open  for  you  to  pass  through.  You  will  be 
taken  to  a prison  in  Paris,  and  from  thence 
you  will  be  sent  to  Marseilles.  May  you 
continue  firm  in  all  the  trials  of  your  faith.” 
We  remained  quietly  eating  our  suppers, 
making  no  remark  on  what  had  passed : but 
when  we  had  finished  our  meal,  instead  of 
lying  down  to  sleep  upon  our  mattresses,  we 
began  to  put  our  few  things  together  in  readi- 
6 


62  the  huguenot  galley-slaves* 

ness  to  set  off.  While  we  were  thus  em- 
ployed, our  overseer  came  in  as  usual,  to 
spend  an  hour  with  us,  which  he  passed  in 
talking  and  smoking  his  pipe.  When  he  saw 
that  we  were  packing  up  our  things  instead 
of  preparing  our  beds,  he  asked,  with  some 
surprise,  what  we  were  going  to  do.  “ We 
are  getting  ready  for  our  journey,”  I replied. 
“You  are  a fool,”  he  answered;  “what  do 
you  mean  by  such  nonsense  ?”  “ I tell  you,” 
I continued,  “that  at  twelve  o’clock  this  very 
night,  four  wagons  will  be  at  the  entrance  of 
the  arsenal ; they  will  convey  us  through  the 
white  gate  ; we  shall  go  to  Paris,  and  from 
thence  to  Marseilles.”  “ I repeat  that  you 
are  a fool,”  answered  the  overseer,  “and 
that  there  is  not  the  smallest  truth  in  what 
you  say.  I saw  the  commandant  at  eight 
o’clock  this  evening,  and  he  only  gave  the 
usual  orders.”  “Very  well,  sir,”  I replied, 
“you  will  soon  hear.”  Scarcely  had  we 
finished  the  conversation,  when  a servant  be- 
longing to  the  commandant  entered,  and  told 
the  overseer  that  his  master  wished  to  speak 
to  him  directly.  He  returned  shortly  after  in 
the  greatest  astonishment.  “ Tell  me,”  he 
exclaimed,  “ whether  you  are  sorcerers  or 
prophets.  I believe,  however,  that  God  is 
with  you,  for  you  are  too  honest  and  pious  to 
have  dealings  with  Satan.”  “No,  indeed, 
we  are  neither  prophets  nor  sorcerers ; the  mat- 
ter is  simple  enough.”  “ I do  not  understand 
if  at  all,”  returned  the  overseer ; “ for  the 
commandant  has  just  assured  me  that  no  one 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 


63 


in  the  city  knows  of  our  intended  departure 
besides  himself;  I must,  then,  believe  that 
God  is  especially  with  you.”  “ I trust  so,” 
I replied;  and  we  all  immediately  prepared 
for  our  journey.  The  mystery  was  easily 
explained.  The  daughter  of  the  banker  was 
engaged  to  be  married  to  the  secretary  of  the 
commandant,  and  from  him  she  had  learned 
the  secret.  As  we  proceeded  on  the  road  to 
Paris,  we  were  met  by  numbers  of  Protest- 
ants, who,  regardless  of  the  blows  liberally 
bestowed  by  the  rude  constables  in  order  to 
disperse  them,  pressed  forward  to  embrace 
us,  and  encourage  us  by  words  of  comfort. 
The  red  dresses  worn  by  the  Protestants,  of 
whom  there  were  twenty-two,  made  them 
easily  distinguishable  from  the  other  prison- 
ers; and  these  worthy  people,  among  whom 
were  many  of  the  higher  classes,  addressed 
us  with,  “ Take  comfort,  confessors  of  the 
truth  ; suffer  boldly  in  so  noble  a cause.  We 
shall  not  cease  to  pray  for  you,  that  God 
would  show  you  his  mercy,  and  support  you 
in  all  your  afflictions.” 

We  passed  through  Charenton,  the  Isle  of 
France,  Burgundy,  and  Macon,  to  Lyons, 
travelling  at  the  rate  of  three  or  four  miles  a 
day.  This  was  a long  walk  for  persons  en- 
cumbered by  heavy  fetters,  and  suffering 
numberless  privations.  Our  food  was  of  the 
poorest  kind;  our  only  couch,  a dirty  stable. 
During  the  day,  we  often  walked  up  to  our 
knees  in  mud,  while  the  tempest  was  beating 
upon  our  heads,  and  the  rain  drenching  us  to 


64  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

the  skin  ; add  to  which  the  filth  and  vermin, 
the  necessary  consequence  of  our  misery.  We 
embarked  at  Lyons,  and  went  up  the  Rhone 
till  we  came  to  the  bridge  “den  Heiligen 
Geist from  thence  we  went  by  land  to 
Avignon,  and  then  on  to  Marseilles,  where 
we  arrived  on  the  7th  of  January,  1713.  The 
Protestants  were  all  in  perfect,  health,  but 
many  of  the  other  prisoners  had  died  on  the 
road;  most  of  them  were  ill,  and  not  a few 
expired  in  the  hospital  at  Marseilles,  soon 
after  our  arrival. 

Thus  ended  our  journey  from  Dunkirk  to 
Marseilles;  during  which,  especially  after  I 
left  Paris,  I suffered  more  than  I had  done 
during  the  twelve  previous  years  of  my  cap- 
tivity and  labour  at  the  oars.  We  were 
placed  in  the  principal  galley  at  Marseilles  ; 
here  we  found  many  fellow-sufferers  for  the 
faith.  The  Protestants,  at  this  time,  in  the 
vessel,  were  forty  in  number.  Our  brethren 
received  us  with  open  arms,  and  hailed  our 
arrival  with  mingled  emotions  of  pain  and 
pleasure ; pleasure  to  see  us  in  good  health, 
and  steadfast  in  the  will  of  the  Most  High ; 
pain,  on  account  of  the  trials  we  had  endured; 
and  we  united  in  praise  to  Him  who  had 
enabled  us  to  withstand  such  long  and  dan- 
gerous temptations. 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  65 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  DELIVERANCE. 

After  the  peace  of  Ryswick,  the  popish  mis- 
sionaries were  very  anxious  that  the  Protest- 
ant slaves  should  be  compelled  to  uncover 
their  heads  and  prostrate  themselves  on  the 
earth,  during  the  celebration  of  mass,  in  the 
same  manner  as  did  the  Catholics ; and  by 
their  persuasions,  M.  de  Bonbelle  was  in- 
duced to  inflict  the  punishment  of  the  lash  on 
all  who  refused  to  comply  with  this  order. 
M.  de  Bonbelle  went  daily  from  vessel  to  ves- 
sel to  see  that  this  decree  was  enforced,  ad- 
monishing the  sufferers  to  obedience  with 
such  blasphemous  expressions  as  these, 
“ Down,  dog,  on  your  knees,  when  mass  is 
read,  and,  in  this  position,  worship  either  God 
or  the  devil ; it  is  the  same  to  us.”  Of  those, 
upon  whom  this  punishment  was  inflicted, 
not  one  yielded  to  temptation ; all  remained 
firm,  and  praised  God  amidst  their  sufferings. 
The  ambassadors  of  the  Protestant  powers, 
being  informed  of  these  atrocities,  made, 
however,  such  strong  representations  to  the 
king  on  the  subject,  that  orders  were  soon 
afterwards  sent,  forbidding  personal  violence 
to  be  used  for  enforcing  the  submission  of  the 
Protestant  slaves.  When  the  peace  of  Utrecht 
was  concluded  without  any  stipulation  in  our 
behalf,  the  marquis  de  Rochegude,  a French 
nobleman,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  Switzer- 
land, determined  to  make  a last  effort  to  suc- 
6* 


66  THE  HUGUENOT  G ALLEY-SLAVES. 

eour  his  persecuted  countrymen.  He  went 
from  Utrecht  into  Sweden,  to  king  Charles 
xir. ; from  thence  to  the  kings  of  Denmark 
and  Prussia;  in  short,  to  all  the  Protestant 
princes  in  Europe,  and  obtained  from  them 
letters  of  introduction  to  the  queen  of  Eng- 
land, in  which  they  entreated  her  to  interpose 
for  our  deliverance.  He  gave  these  letters 
to  the  queen,  and  when,  after  a fortnight  had 
elapsed,  he  requested  her  answer,  she  said  to 
him,  “ I pray  you,  M.  de  Rochegude,  send 
word  to  the  poor  galley-slaves,  that  they  shall 
soon  be  set  at  liberty.”  The  marquis  lost  no 
time  in  conveying  this  welcome  intelligence 
to  us,  through  the  Geneva  post ; and  it  in 
some  degree  revived  our  hopes.  We  had 
long  ceased  to  expect  human  help,  and  we 
thanked  God  for  this  fresh  proof  of  his  mercy. 
A short  time  afterwards,  the  commandant  at 
Marseilles  received  orders  from  the  govern- 
ment to  send  a list  of  the  Protestant  prisoners 
at  that  time  in  Marseilles.  He  did  so  ; and, 
in  the  end  of  May,  received  another  commu- 
nication from  the  court,  desiring  him  to  set  at 
liberty  a certain  number  of  Protestants.  The 
rest  (for  there  were  about  three  hundred  of 
us)  were  not  dismissed  till  the  year  following. 

The  commandant  having  informed  the 
popish  missionaries  that  orders  had  been 
given  to  dismiss  the  Protestant  slaves,  they 
declared,  with  indignation,  that  the  king 
must  have  been  grossly  deceived,  and  that  it 
would  be  an  eternal  disgrace  to  the  Romish 
Church,  if  the  heretics  were  to  be  set  at  liber- 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  67 

ty.  They  requested  the  commandant,  there- 
fore, to  delay  the  execution  of  the  decree  for 
a fortnight;  during  which  time,  they  pro- 
posed sending  an  express  to  the  court,  in 
order,  if  possible,  to  persuade  the  government 
to  countermand  it.  Their  request  was  grant- 
ed, and  the  king’s  letter  was  kept  a profound 
secret ; but  nevertheless,  a report,  to  the  effect 
that  some  of  the  Protestants  were  to  be  freed 
from  their  long  captivity  reached  our  ears, 
and  we  even  learned  by  degrees,  the  names 
of  those  who  were  mentioned  in  the  list. 
My  name  was  the  last  in  the  catalogue,  and 
for  three  days  I remained  in  uncertainty 
whether  I was  put  down  at  all.  At  last,  I 
was  relieved  from  this  anxiety,  though  we 
were  all  under  much  apprehension  on  hear- 
ing of  the  proceedings  of  the  popish  mission- 
aries. The  courier  returned  to  Marseilles, 
bringing  no  answer,  good  or  bad,  from  the 
court;  the  missionaries,  however,  obtained 
another  week’s  delay,  hoping  that  an  ex- 
press they  had  despatched  immediately  after 
the  first  might  bring  an  answer  more  favour- 
able to  their  designs  ; but  the  second  messen- 
ger returning  also  without  any  communica- 
tion from  the  government,  they  no  longer 
had  any  pretext  for  opposing  our  freedom. 
But,  by  their  malicious  suggestions,  the  com- 
mandant was  induced  to  impose  this  condi- 
tion, namely,  that  we  should  immediately 
embark  on  board  some  vessel,  and  leave  the 
kingdom  at  our  own  expense.  It  was  diffi- 
cult for  us  to  promise  obedience,  for  there 


68  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

Avas  no  ship  in  the  harbour  about  to  sail  for 
Holland  or  England,  and  \ve  could  not  afford 
to  hire  one  for  ourselves. 

At  last,  the  pilot  of  a galley,  Jovas  by 
name,  told  one  of  our  brethren,  that  he  would 
take  us  from  Marseilles  to  Villefranche,  a 
seaport  in  the  county  of  Nice,  Avhich  belongs 
to  the  king  of  Sardinia,  and  from  thence  we 
might  go  through  Piedmont  to  Geneva.  He 
had  a tartane  of  his  own,  that  is,  one  of  those 
boats  so  called,  which  were  usually  employed 
upon  the  Mediterranean.  We  agreed  to 
give  this  man  six  livres  each,  out  of  which 
he  was  to  supply  us  with  provisions.  This 
was  a liberal  payment  for  a short  voyage  of 
twenty-five  miles.  Thus,  notwithstanding 
the  opposition  of  the  missionaries,  we  left 
Marseilles  on  the  17th  of  June,  1713. 

The  sea  was  very  rough,  although  Ave  had 
a favourable  wind,  and  the  boat  Avas  so 
tossed  by  the  Avaves,  that  Ave  expected  every 
moment  to  be  upset,  and  all  suffered  terribly 
from  sea-sickness.  Jovas  landed  at  Ville- 
franche ; he  said  he  had  business  in  Nice, 
and  also  wished  to  attend  mass.  I asked  per- 
mission to  accompany  him  into  the  town  ; he 
willingly  consented,  and  Ave  set  out  together, 
Avith  some  of  my  brethren.  At  the  entrance 
of  the  toAvn,  our  captain  said  he  Avould  go  to 
mass,  and  Ave  had  better  Avait  for  him  at  the 
nearest  inn.  We  turned  into  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal streets,  and  (it  being  Sunday,  and  all 
the  shops  and  houses  shut)  Ave  met  scarcely 
any  one.  We  had  not  gone  far,  however, 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  69 


before  we  saw  a man  coming  towards  us. 
At  first,  we  hardly  observed  him,  but  as  he 
approached  us,  lie  greeted  us  with  gre^t 
civility,  and  said  he  hoped  we  should  not  be 
displeased  if  he  took  the  liberty  of  inquiring 
whence  we  came.  We  told  him  from  Mar- 
seilles. He  hesitated,  not  liking  to  ask  us 
whether  we  were  from  the  galleys  ; it  being 
considered  a great  affront  to  say  that  a man 
has  been  at  the  galleys,  unless,  indeed,  it  be 
on  account  of  his  religion.  “ I pray  you, 
gentlemen,”  he  continued,  “ tell  me  whether 
you  left  Marseilles  by  order  of  the  king.” 
‘‘Yes,  sir,”  we  replied,  “we  come  from  the 
French  galleys.”  “God  be  praised,”  he  ex- 
claimed, “you  are  among  the  number  of 
those  lately  dismissed  on  account  of  their  re- 
ligion?” And  upon  our  answering  in  the 
affirmative,  the  man  was  almost  beside  him- 
self for  joy,  and  requested  us  to  follow  him 
to  his  house ; we  did  so  without  much  con- 
sideration, though  Jovas,  who  was  still  with 
us,  was  not  without  some  anxiety  as  to  the 
result,  knowing  it  not  to  be  always  very  safe 
to  trust  to  the  Italians.  The  stranger  con- 
ducted us  to  his  mansion,  which  was  more 
like  the  palace  of  a nobleman  than  the  dwel- 
ling of  a merchant.  As  we  entered,  he  em- 
braced us  with  tears  of  joy;  he  called  for  his 
wife  and  children.  “ Come,”  cried  he,  “ wel- 
come our  brethren,  who  at  last  have  been 
delivered  from  their  heavy  afflictions  in  the 
galleys  after  which  signor  Bonijoli,  for  this 
was  the  merchant’s  name,  begged  us  to  unite 


70  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

with  him  in  prayer.  We  knelt  down  together ; 
signor  Bonijoli  offered  up  a fervent  thanks- 
giving for  our  deliverance  ; we  all  wept,  and 
Jovas,  who  knelt  down  with  us,  assured  us 
afterwards,  that  lie  felt  as  if  he  were  trans- 
ported to  paradise.  When  the  prayer  was 
concluded,  breakfast  was  brought,  and  after 
much  pious  conversation  on  the  mighty  power 
of  God,  who  had  granted  us  grace  to  abide 
firm  in  the  faith,  and  to  be  more  than  con- 
querors over  our  enemies,  signor  Bonijoli 
asked  us  how  many  we  were  in  number.  We 
told  him,  “Six  and  thirty.”  “This  agrees 
with  my  letter,”  he  answered,  “for  I must 
tell  you  that  one  of  my  correspondents  at 
Marseilles  told  me  what  day  you  were  to  be 
discharged  from  the  galleys,  and  requested 
me  to  show  you  any  kindness  in  my  power, 
should  you  pass  through  Nice.  But  where 
are  the  rest?”  “At  Villefranche,”  we  re- 
plied. Signor  Bonijoli  immediately  sent  to 
invite  them  to  Nice,  and,  on  their  arrival, 
received  them  with  the  greatest  hospitality, 
boarding  them  at  the  best  hotels,  and  desiring 
that  they  should  be  entertained  in  the  most 
liberal  manner  at  his  own  expense.  We 
who  had  first  made  his  acquaintance,  re- 
mained in  his  house,  and  during  our  month’s 
residence  at  Nice,  we  had  to  thank  him  for 
daily  proofs  of  friendship.  Jovas,  at  the  end 
of  this  period,  returned  to  Marseilles,  promis- 
ing that  he  would  advise  our  brethren,  who 
were  to  follow  in  two  other  vessels,  to  go 
also  by  Villefranche.  After  his  departure, 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  71 

signor  Bonijoli  hastened  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  our  journey;  he  hired  thirty-six 
mules  and  a guide,  at  his  own  expense,  to 
take  us  as  far  as  Turin.  We  left  Nice  in  the 
beginning  of  July.  We  had  several  very 
aged  persons  in  our  party,  which  rather  re- 
tarded our  progress;  for,  by  reason  of  their 
infirmities,  they  could  scarcely  sit  upright  on 
their  mules.  Our  road  led  us  over  moun- 
tains ; amongst  others,  the  Col  di  Tenda  : and 
although  at  the  foot  of  this  mountain  we 
suffered  extreme  heat,  yet,  when  we  reached 
the  summit,  the  cold  was  so  intense,  that  we 
were  obliged  to  alight  from  our  mules,  and 
walk,  to  warm  ourselves.  We  descended 
on  the  other  side  into  the  plain  of  Piedmont, 
a rich  and  beautiful  country,  and  arrived  in 
safety  at  Turin.  Signor  Bonijoli  had  written 
letters  of  introduction  to  the  Protestants  of 
Turin,  many  of  whom  were  engaged  in  dif- 
ferent trades,  and  professed  the  same  faith  as 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Waldensian  valleys. 
These  received  us  with  brotherly  affection, 
and  entertained  us  for  three  days;  after  which, 
having  provided  beasts  for  us  to  continue  our 
journey,  they  requested  the  king  to  give  us  a 
passport,  which  should  enable  us  to  travel  in 
security  through  his  dominions  to  Geneva. 
Victor  Amadeus  having  expressed  a wish  to 
see  us,  six  of  us  were  presented  to  him,  in 
the  presence  of  the  English  and  Dutch  am- 
bassadors ; he  received  us  very  graciously, 
conversed  with  us  for  half  an  hour,  asking 
us  several  questions,  such  as,  “ How  long 


72  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

we  had  been  at  the  galleys  ? why  we  had  left 
them?  how  we  were  employed  there?”  And 
when  we  had  answered  these  inquiries,  he 
said  to  the  ambassadors,  “ This  is  cruel  and 
barbarous.”  His  majesty  then  asked  us 
whether  we  had  sufficient  money  for  out- 
journey.  We  replied  that  we  had  not  much 
money,  but  that  signor  Bonijoli  had  sent  us 
free  of  expense  from  Nice  to  Turin,  and  that 
our  brethren  at  Turin  would  do  the  same  as 
far  as  Geneva;  upon  which,  his  majesty 
further  told  us  that  we  might  remain  in  Turin 
as  long  as  we  liked,  and,  when  we  wished  to 
leave  it,  we  need  only  speak  to  his  secretary, 
who  would  immediately  give  us  a passport. 
In  this  passport,  all  his  subjects  were  com- 
manded to  receive  us,  and  to  provide  us  with 
all  things  necessary  for  our  journey.  Praised 
be  God,  we  were  not  obliged  te  make  use  of 
it;  for  our  brethren  at  Turin,  who  had  al- 
ready loaded  us  with  favours,  sent  us,  at 
their  own  expense,  to  Geneva.  There  was 
at  that  time  in  Turin,  a young  man,  a na- 
tive of  Geneva,  a watchmaker  by  trade,  who 
accompanied  us  on  foot  during  the  greater 
part  of  our  journey.  When  we  were  about 
two  days’  distance  from  Geneva,  he  took 
leave  of  us,  and  said  he  knew  a foot  path 
across  the  country  much  nearer  than  the  high 
road,  which  would  bring  him  to  the  town  a 
day  sooner  than  ourselves.  Accordingly,  he 
arrived  there  the  day  before  us,  and  told  his 
acquaintance  that  thirty-six  French  Protest- 
ants, who  had  lately  been  discharged  from 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  73 


the  galleys,  were  on  their  way ; which  com- 
ing to  the  ears  of  the  chief  magistrate,  he 
sent  to  make  inquiries  respecting  us. 

The  next  morning,  our  road  led  us  over  a 
mountain,  about  one  mile  from  Geneva,  and 
when  from  the  top  we  saw  the  city  straight 
before  us,  our  emotions  resembled  those  which 
the  Israelites  must  have  felt  at  the  sight  of 
the  land  of  Canaan.  As  it  was  Sunday,  the 
gates  were  not  opened  till  after  Divine  ser- 
vice, that  is,  till  about  four  o’clock  in  the 
afternoon : we  were,  therefore,  obliged  to 
wait  some  hours  in  the  neighbouring  village, 
but  scarcely  had  our  little  party  begun  to 
march,  wheu  we  perceived  a crowd  of  per- 
sons who  were  advancing  towards  us  from 
the  town.  Our  guide  appeared  much  aston- 
ished, and  still  more  when,  having  arrived 
at  a plain  about  a quarter  of  an  hour’s  walk 
from  the  city,  we  were  met  by  three  coaches 
escorted  by  halberdiers,  and  followed  by  a 
throng  of  persons,  who  opened  as  we  ap- 
proached, and  a servant  of  the  prefect,  re- 
spectfully accosting  us,  announced  that  his 
master  was  come  in  person  to  congratulate 
us  on  our  arrival.  As  he  spoke,  several 
magistrates  and  clergymen  alighted  from  the 
coaches,  and  embraced  us  with  the  warmest 
affections,  while  congratulating  us  on  our 
constancy  in  the  faith,  in  a manner  far  be- 
yond our  poor  deserts.  We  thanked  them 
with  deep  emotion,  and  magnified  the  grace 
of  God,  which  had  helped  us  through  so 
many  difficulties.  The  people  now,  in  their 
7 


74  the  huguenot  galley-slaves. 

turn,  saluted  us  with  much  kindness , hut 
what  a scene  followed ! Many  inhabitants 
of  Geneva  had  relations  or  friends  in  the 
galleys,  and,  as  they  were  ignorant  whether 
they  were  amongst  us  or  not,  a cry  was 
heard  on  all  sides,  My  husband,  my  son, 
my  brother,  are  you  there  ?”  We  were  al- 
most stifled  with  embraces,  and  it  was  not 
without  difficulty  that  we  persuaded  them 
to  allow  us  to  remount  our  mules,  and  enter 
the  town.  Thither  we  were  conducted  in 
triumph,  and  the  inhabitants  contended  with 
each  other  for  the  pleasure  of  receiving  us 
into  their  dwellings. 

I and  six  others  of  my  brethren  remained 
only  a very  short  time  at  Geneva.  We 
hired  a coach,  which  had  just  brought  the 
Prussian  ambassador  from  Berlin  to  take  us 
as  far  as  F rankfort.  The  gentlemen  at  Gene- 
va had  the  goodness  to  pay  our  travelling 
expenses,  and  to  p> resent  us  besides  with  a 
sum  of  money.  We  stayed  four  days  at 
Berne,  and  were  treated  with  the  same  re- 
spect and  liberality ; and  at  our  departure, 
the  burgomaster  gave  us  twenty  dollars  for 
our  journey. 

In  the  beginning  of  August,  we  reached 
Frankfort.  The  gentlemen  at  Geneva  had 
commended  us  to  the  attention  of  M.  Sarasin, 
a merchant  in  that  city,  and  a member  of  the 
reformed  church  at  Bochenheim,  near  Frank- 
fort ; for  at  that  time,  there  was  no  place  of 
worship  for  the  Protestants  at  Frankfort, 
and  they  were  obliged  to  attend  Divine  ser- 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  75 

vice  at  Bochenheim.  We  went  to  M.  Sar- 
asin’s  liouse,  and  in  a short  time  all  the 
members  of  the  congregation  were  assem- 
bled, among  them  many  French  and  Ger- 
mans ; they  received  us  with  great  pleasure, 
and  took  us  with  them  to  Bochenheim,  where 
we  heard  a sermon  preached  by  M.  Matthieu, 
the  French  pastor.  M.  Sarasin  most  kindly 
made  the  necessary  arrangements  for  us  to 
continue  our  journey.  He  purchased  a small 
vessel  to  take  us  to  Cologne,  furnished  us 
with  provisions,  and  desired  the  sailors  to 
touch  at  different  places,  that  we  might  have 
the  comfort  of  passing  the  night  on  shore ; 
he  particularly  warned  them  to  keep  as  near 
as  possible  to  that  side  of  the  river  along 
which  the  imperial  army  lay  at  that  time  en- 
camped, otherwise  we  should  incur  the  dan- 
ger of  being  apprehended  by  the  French, 
who  were  on  the  other  side,  engaged  in  the 
siege  of  Landau.  Before  we  embarked,  M. 
Sarasin  accompanied  us  to  the  council  house, 
to  procure  passports.  The  magistrates  pre- 
sent wished  us  much  happiness  calling  us 
“ the  salt  of  the  earth but,  far  from  being 
flattered  by  their  commendations,  we  felt 
deeply  humbled  on  account  of  our  unworthi- 
ness to  receive  them  : we  gave  God  the  glory. 
I saw  several  of  the  gentlemen  weeping  in 
sympathy  for  our  past  sufferings,  while  they 
admonished  us  to  continue  steadfast  in  the 
faith.  Passports  were  given  us,  for  which 
we  were  not  allowed  to  pay,  and  we  took 


76  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

leave,  both  of  the  magistrates  and  M.  Sarasin, 
with  the  deepest  gratitude. 

Our  voyage  was  somewhat  tedious,  be- 
cause the  sentinels  of  the  imperial  army,  sta- 
tioned on  the  bank  of  the  river,  were  con- 
tinually detaining  us  to  examine  our  passports. 
Although  the  French  discharged  several  shots 
at  us  from  the  other  side,  yet,  praised  be  God, 
we  escaped  without  injury.  A week  after 
our  departure  from  Frankfort,  we  arrived  at 
Cologne  : here  we  sold  our  vessel,  and  went 
on  in  the  public  boat  to  Dort ; thence  we 
proceeded  immediately  through  Rotterdam  to 
Amsterdam.  I have  only  time  to  mention, 
very  shortly,  the  affectionate  reception  we 
met  with  from  our  Protestant  brethren  in  that 
city.  We  were  introduced  into  the  consistory 
of  the  church,  and  rendered  our  sincere  thanks 
to  the  members,  for  the  assistance  they  afford- 
ed us  during  our  imprisonment  in  the  galleys; 
to  which  an  answer  was  returned,  that  this 
assistance  should  be  continued  as  long  as  we 
needed  it,  and  we  were  affectionately  exhort- 
ed to  live  up  to  our  privileges  as  confessors 
of  a holy  faith,  and  by  a blameless  walk  and 
conversation,  to  adorn  our  Christian  profes- 
sion. After  we  had  remained  three  or  four 
weeks  at  Amsterdam,  receiving  numberless 
proofs  of  friendship  on  every  side,  I was  re- 
quested by  the  consistory  to  be  one  of  the 
deputies  about  to  proceed  to  England,  in  the 
name  of  the  church,  in  order  to  return  thanks 
to  the  queen  for  the  share  she  had  taken  in 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 


77 


obtaining  our  deliverance,  and  to  entreat  her 
to  exert  herself  still  further  to  procure  the  dis- 
charge of  the  rest  of  our  fellow-sufferers  in 
the  galleys.  I went  with  two  of  our  brethren 
to  London,  and  in  a short  time,  the  number 
of  deputies  increased  to  twelve,  all  like  our- 
selves, lately  dismissed  from  slavery.  The 
marquises  de  Miremont  and  de  Rochegude 
presented  us  to  the  queen,  who  graciously 
permitted  us  to  kiss  her  hand.  The  marquis 
de  Miremont  returned  thanks  to  her  majesty 
in  our  name,  to  which  she  replied,  that  she. 
was  rejoiced  to  see  us  at  liberty,  and  that  she 
hoped  to  be  able  to  procure  the  pardon  of 
those  Protestants,  still  labouring  in  the  galleys. 

By  desire  of  the  marquis  de  Rochegude, 
we  also  waited  on  the  French  ambassador, 
M.  de  Aumont ; he  received  us  with  polite- 
ness, and  congratulated  us  on  our  freedom, 
asking  how  long  we  had  served  in  the  gal- 
leys. We  requested  him  to  petition  the 
French  government  to  release  the  rest  of  the 
Protestant  slaves,  adding  that  the  king  had 
consented  to  grant  a free  pardon,  and  yet  only 
one  hundred  and  thirty-six  had  been  dismiss- 
ed, while  more  than  two  hundred  still  re- 
mained in  chains.  The  ambassador  appeared 
much  surprised  at  this,  and  said  he  thought 
they  must  be  detained  on  other  grounds  : but 
we  assured  him  this  was  not  the  case ; and 
to  prove  it,  I told  him  that  my  companion, 
Daniel  le  Gras,  was  sentenced  at  the  same 
time  as  myself,  and  for  a similar  crime,  and 
that  he  was  still  a prisoner  at  Marseilles, 


78  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 


whilst  I was  set  at  liberty.  This  appeared 
to  convince  him,  and  he  promised  to  write 
on  the  subject  to  the  French  government; 
but  he  was  persuaded  by  his  secretary,  the 
abbe  Nadal,  to  relinquish  his  intention,  and  a 
year  elapsed  before  our  brethren  were  dis- 
charged, and  then  only  in  compliance  with 
the  repeated  solicitations  of  the  English  queen. 

I hasten  to  the  conclusion  of  my  history. 
With  the  consent  of  M.  de  Rochegude,  I 
quitted  London  after  I had  resided  in  that 
metropolis  for  about  ten  weeks.  Several  of 
my  brethren  remained  behind,  in  order  to  as- 
sist as  far  as  possible  the  exertions  of  the 
queen  in  behalf  of  our  friends.  I remained 
some  weeks  at  the  Hague.  The  pastor,  Bas- 
nage,  succeeded  in  obtaining  a pension  for  us 
from  the  states-general.  We  had  not,  in  the 
smallest  degree,  deserved  these  faArours,  and 
could  only  ascribe  them  to  the  Christian  kind- 
ness of  those  who  showed  them  to  us.  When 
1 reflect  upon  the  conduct  of  these  gentlemen, 
I cannot  sufficiently  admire  their  devotion  to 
God,  their  zeal  for  his  glory,  and  their  love 
to  their  fellow  Protestants.  Well  did  they 
observe  the  sacred  precept,  “ Bo  good  unto 
all  men,  especially  unto  them  who  are  of  the 
household  of  faith,”  Gal.  vi.  10.  May  God 
be  the  rewarder  of  all  those  benefits  which 
were  conferred  upon  us  during  this  painful 
and  weary  part  of  our  earthly  pilgrimage. 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  79 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

In  closing  this  interesting  narrative,  will  it 
not  be  immediately  felt  by  every  reader  how 
great  are  our  advantages  who  have  few,  if 
any,  inconveniences  to  suffer  for  the  sake  of 
religion?  We  may,  perhaps,  be  sneered  at 
by  some,  or  frowned  upon  by  others : possi- 
bly a few  may  be  discountenanced  or  rejected 
by  their  friends,  or  even  banished  from  their 
homes  for  their  conscientious  preference  of 
the  service  of  God;  but  none  of  us  can  be 
doomed  to  exile,  or  slavery,  or  death — none 
compelled  to  profess  a creed  which  they  abhor ; 
and  the  few  who  endure  inconveniences  have 
the  kindness  and  help  of  their  fellow  Chris- 
tians. Most  of  us,  on  the  other  hand,  are  sur- 
rounded by  friends,  whose  constant  desire  is  to 
see  us  attain  the  saving  knowledge  and  belief 
of  those  truths  which,  in  our  education,  we 
have  been  taught  to  revere,  and  whose  highest 
delight  would  be  to  witness  our  public  and 
persevering  profession  of  faith  in  the  atone- 
ment and  righteousness  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  our  grateful  obedience  to  his 
commands. 

Then,  perhaps,  another  thought  which  may 
arise  in  our  minds  may  be  a question  whether, 
in  a similar  trial  of  our  principles,  we  should 
hold  to  them  as  firmly  as  these  youths  appear 
to  have  done.  Surrounded  by  our  numerous 
privileges,  and  protected  by  a kind  Provi- 
dence on  every  side,  we  may  be  ready  to  re- 


80  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 

ply,  when  the  possibility  of  our  ever  denying 
the  truth  is  hinted  to  us,  “Am  I a dog,  that 
I should  do  this  thing?”  And  so,  doubtless, 
would  many  have  answered  who  yet  knew 
not  their  own  hearts,  and  when  the  time  of 
difficulty  came,  found  themselves  unequal  to 
the  test.  It  becomes  us  to  entreat  our  hea- 
venly Father,  “ Lead  us  not  into  temptation.” 
It  becomes  us  also  to  give  diligent  heed  to 
our  Saviour’s  words,  “ Watch  ye  and  pray, 
lest  ye  enter  into  temptation,”  Mark  xiv.  38  ; 
and  constantly  to  regard  the  apostle’s  exhor- 
tation, “ Looking  unto  Jesus  the  author  and 
finisher  of  our  faith,”  Heb.  xii.  2. 

Further:  we  must  observe  how  much  ad- 
vantage in  the  hour  of  trial  the  man  who 
heartily  loves  and  obeys  the  truth  has  over 
one  who,  although  his  judgment  and  con- 
science are  so  convinced  that  he  dares  not 
deny  it,  yet  is  not  brought  under  its  saving 
influence.  It  may  be  feared  that  at  first  these 
young  men  felt  rather  an  attachment  to  the 
principles  of  Protestantism  than  a thorough 
devotedness  of  heart  to  that  Divine  Saviour, 
whose  honour  is  involved  in  those  principles. 
Had  the  grace  of  God  ruled  in  full  power 
over  their  hearts,  and  the  truths  of  the  Bible 
been  duly  appreciated,  they  would  never 
have  allowed  those  sinful  equivocations  and 
falsehoods,  which  in  their  enlightened  review 
of  their  conduct,  they  are  compelled  to  con- 
demn and  lament.  That  they  without  hesi- 
tation ingenuously  confess  their  guilt,  leads 
us  to  the  cheering  belief  that  God  was  pleased 


THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES.  81 


to  bring  them  to  the  personal  application  and 
enjoyment  of  those  blessed  truths  for  which 
they  so  nobly  suffered.  Had  they  through- 
out possessed  this  personal  enjoyment  of  re- 
ligion, they  would  doubtless  have  had  to  tell 
us  too  of  supports  and  consolations  from 
above  which  would  have  enabled  them  to 
rejoice  in  tribulations,  and,  like  the  prisoners 
in  the  jail  of  Philippi,  to  sing  praises  to  God, 
Acts  xvi.  25. 

Let  us  remember,  too,  that  whilst  we  may 
and  should  use  every  means  in  our  power 
for  the  preservation  of  our  comforts  and  our 
lives,  we  shall  be  acting  foolishly  as  well  as 
sinfully  in  adopting  any  means  which  con- 
science condemns.  Pursuing  an  honourable 
and  straightforward  course,  and  leaving  the 
result  to  the  care  of  a gracious  Providence, 
we  shall,  in  the  end,  find  our  reward.  The 
untruths  into  which  these  youths  were  led  by 
fear,  rarely  obtained  them  an  advantage,  and 
sometimes  brought  upon  them  severe  punish- 
ment. 

Lastly,  how  instructive  to  remember  that 
in  a very  short  period  afterwards,  that  land 
in  which  these  deeds  of  darkness  and  cruelty 
were  done  was  overspread  with  a heartless 
infidelity,  which  turned  the  edge  of  persecu- 
tion against  these  very  oppressors.  Super- 
stition is  the  parent  of  infidelity,  and  however 
they  may  differ  in  other  respects,  both  fully 
agree  in  being  entirely  at  variance  with  the 
kindly  temper  of  the  holy  religion  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace.  From  both  these  evils  may 


82  THE  HUGUENOT  GALLEY-SLAVES. 


God  preserve  us  and  our  beloved  country, 
giving  us  not  only  to  adhere  to  thp  principles 
of  Protestantism, but  experimentally  to  realize 
the  saving  value  of  its  cardinal  truth,  “being 
justified  by  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.” 


THE  END. 


